Walking with the Wise #155: Sweet to the Soul

“A desire fulfilled is sweet to the soul,
but to turn away from evil is an abomination to fools.”
—Proverbs 13:19

The way of obedience is hard, but the result is always blessing. For the new Christian, initial obedience most often results in observable blessings. But as one progresses in godliness and matures in the faith, the observable blessings begin to dissipate. God wants to increase our faith and does so by removing the training wheels of observable blessings so that we might hope more fully on Him. He wants to increase the desire for Him within us, shaping and molding our heart so that we desire what He desires. It is at this moment where the Christian life becomes much more difficult. The great and divine Potter of our souls takes us and shapes us outwardly when we first come to Him. He places His hands around us, shaping us so carefully, and skillfully making us into the person He wants us to be. But then He does the painful. Outward conformity wasn’t as difficult as the inward transformation. He reaches into us and begins to hollow us out, removing that which He doesn’t want, all the while expecting us to trust Him as the pain increases. God wants us to walk by faith, not by sight (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:7) and the only way He can do this is by removing everything that we depend upon that is not of Him. Although it is painful, it is for our betterment in the long run, as we begin to experience the sweetness of closer and more intimate fellowship.

As faith increases, we long to see the hand of God at work in more powerful ways. In our prayer lives, we move on from general requests to pray God’s purposes. This results in more longing to know God and to make Him known, to see God’s hand at work in bringing about His purposes. And whenever we see that desire or that purpose fulfilled, it will be sweet to our soul. But this only comes after turning away from sin, and not just the outward observable ones either—but the inward sins of the heart, which can be extremely painful. The ungodly resist this process, thinking it too hard to do. What God wants from them, they cannot give—surrender and obedience. Turning away from evil to them means giving up what they love and they cannot do it; the price is too much. If they were to only realize what it is that God is offering they would have no problem giving up their sin. God is offering the most precious and valuable thing in the universe—Himself. But they instead spurn the Creator’s love for merely the creation, not realizing that they are trading that which is infinitely best for that which is temporal and cursed.

May the Lord our God continue to shape us! May we surrender ourselves into His loving hand, presenting our bodies as a “living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship”—Romans 12:1. May we turn from that which can never satisfy and embrace the only one in whom satisfaction is guaranteed for both now and in eternity—Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, the eternal Son of God, who gave Himself for us so that we might have life in Him, through Him, and with Him now and forever. Amen and Amen.