451. A Delightsome Land
Malachi 3:12 And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the Lord of hosts.
The further promise on condition of tithing is that you shall be a delightsome land. When one person, one family, one church, one people group, one nation is thankful, respectful, worshiping and believing in God, that one will be delightsome. You will be a land of delight, pleasure and happiness. And all the peoples of earth will call you blessed.
The “land”’ is the kingdom of God. Enter into the kingdom by faith and you enter into a happy place. The kingdom comes (as we pray) among us and into us. The reign of God rules our hearts and lives. When we believe God and give Him His due respect and regard, then we are blessed; the world’s people notice, and we are living in a land of delight.
The world seeks thrills and pleasures of all kinds for the body and the soul. “If it feels good, do it.” But whatever the world offers to make the body, mind and emotions feel good is momentary and shallow. The thrill passes, we crash, and the same boredom and dreary routine returns. But the joy of the Lord and of living in His kingdom does not stop, crash and disappoint. This deep and lasting joy and peace lasts forever and even grows stronger as we mature in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. The world can’t give it and the world can’t take it away. The delightfulness of the kingdom of God abides through all the ups and downs, pains and pleasures, sorrows and joys of life.
This kind of delightedness comes from being in the Word and Spirit, and it is expressed in prayer and thanksgiving. This is the exciting cycle of the Christian life. We hear the Gospel and read the Word and we respond with prayer and thanks and doing loving deeds and saying kind words. This is a delightful land and it is a joyous place to be alive. We get on the cycle by listening to Jesus and responding to Him. This precious cycle keeps us rolling through life in a corrupt world. “The joy of the Lord is your strength.” The Lord promises delight; you shall live in eternal joy.