“The commandments of the Lord are right, bringing joy to the heart” (Psalm 19:8, NLT). We may not normally think of God’s commandments as sources of joy. We tend to think that they are challenging and that it may be a struggle to keep them. But if we reflect a little more, we realize that God’s commands bring joy and life. A few lines earlier in this Psalm, we learn that God’s instruction revives the soul (v. 7).
So, God’s commands don’t just keep us from being destructive; they also guide us into peace and maturity. They guide us into communion with God in Christ. That is why God’s commands bring joy, they bring us closer to him. This is why Jesus said: “If you love me, obey my commandments” (John 14:15, NLT). He wants us to follow what he taught (the Sermon on the Mount and everything else) because these directives keep us abiding in him. And so he said: “Remain in me, and I will remain in you” (John 15:14, NLT).
How encouraging is this? Keeping his commandments keeps us abiding in him, enjoying his presence in us, and partaking of the nutrients that flow from him, as the Divine Vine, and into us. What greater joy can we find? Therefore, we can study, delight in and pursue all the commandments of Jesus and his Apostles, knowing that we are on the road to greater joy in our growing union of love with Christ.
Have you ever thought that God’s commands bring joy? Can you absorb that in your heart now?
