“Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight.” Psalm 139:35
This week, I have been meditating on delighting in God. The verse from Psalm 119 connects delight to following the path or map God has made for us.
What I love about the verse is that it promises that God not only gives us a map in His word but that he directs our steps as we follow that map.
My daughter has recently been delighting in making maps. She draws ones like the picture above (from today’s coloring session) and then leads me or her mom around the house. She’s a process-oriented girl, so the map is more about the journey — seeing everything on the map — then the destination.
As I watched lead my wife around this morning, I saw so many spiritually applicable lessons:
- The process of our sanctification
- The importance of having Christ lead us our journey
- The reason we need a map in the first place
- The fact that Christ has already completed the journey before us
I failed, however, in sharing any of those lessons.
I didn’t say anything because I didn’t know how.
I didn’t know how to take what Catherine was finding delight in and, in the moment, point her to God.
I needed a map for talking about maps!
As I admit my inability and ask God for help, I perceive God showing me one solution. Later, when our daughter gets specifically spiritual instruction, I will be able to compare God’s word to the map she made earlier.
This is a concrete image for to connect with the stories she’s learning from the Old Testament: a map for how to follow God.
I pray for her to keep delighting in maps, especially the one God has given her, and that I too would follow God’s lead and delight in the fact that He is beside me even when I’m lost.