by Shannon Caughey

You know the difference it makes when athletes genuinely delight in their sport. You don’t have to coach attitude or effort because these athletes are motivated by their joy in competing. They willingly receive coaching and put in extra time because they want to get better. It doesn’t mean practices are always fun or off-season training isn’t a grind at times—but love for their sport enables these athletes to push through and experience the benefits.

Now consider the difference it makes if we genuinely delight in the Bible. This is the case for the psalmist in Psalm 119. We’re continuing our series on what we learn from Psalm 119 about God’s Word and how we respond to it, including in our coaching. In the previous devotions, we’ve seen how the psalmist trusts the Bible, lives by it, and depends upon it. Here’s another repeated emphasis in Psalm 119: the psalmist delights in God’s Word.

A few instances of what the psalmist expresses to God about his Word: “your decrees are my delight” (v. 24); “I delight in your commands, which I love” (v. 47); “I delight in your instruction” (v. 70). The psalmist says, “How sweet your word is to my taste—sweeter than honey in my mouth” (v. 103). He proclaims of God’s decrees that “they are the joy of my heart” (v. 111). Over and over again the psalmist speaks of his love for God’s Word (vv. 48, 97, 119, 127, 140), culminating in this declaration: “I obey your decrees and love them greatly” (v. 167).

To delight in the Bible doesn’t mean every part is enjoyable to read and consider. Some passages may feel dull to us. Other passages “step on our toes” because of how they confront and convict us. Yet all of Scripture can contribute to our delight because all of the Bible points to the God who reveals himself through his Word. When we come to Scripture with a desire to know the Lord more fully, he draws us to himself in an ever-deepening relationship—a relationship made possible through Jesus Christ, “the Word [who] became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). Our delight is ultimately in the God of the Bible. 

Delighting in God and his Word brings great benefit. Through the Bible, we meet with and hear from the living God, which transforms us. We receive clarity about how to live and coach according to the Lord’s good design, which enables us to flourish. We are warned about the dangers of sin, which protects us from sin’s destructiveness. We encounter the love, beauty, and greatness of God, which inspires us to worship him and live for his glory. 

How do we grow in delighting in the Bible? A couple thoughts:

1. Our delight deepens with time spent in God’s Word. You’ve likely experienced something similar with your sport: the longer you’ve been part of it—playing and coaching year after year, deepening your understanding and skill, doing the hard things that help you get better—the greater your love for your sport. As we give consistent time to reading, studying, reflecting on, and being taught from the Bible—and we continue to do this year after year—we find that our delight in God’s Word deepens.

2. Obeying the Bible and delighting in the Bible = a reinforcing cycle. When we obey what God commands in the Bible, we find that we have more delight in his Word—because what God says brings life. And the more we delight in the Bible, the greater our desire to obey God’s Word in all areas, including coaching. Obedience and delight reinforce each other—and this is for our benefit!

When you have a growing delight in the Bible, it makes a genuine difference. Ask the Lord to keep growing your love for him and his Word. You will experience great benefit in doing so.

For reflection: Praise God for his Word. Ask him to deepen your delight in him and his Word. Consider how you can consistently spend time in the Bible and grow in fully obeying God’s Word.