DELIGHTING IN GOD

By A. W. Tozer

I first stumbled on A. W. Tozer (1897-1963) a few years ago when I was engulfed in a dark night of the soul, a several-year period when I felt completely disconnected from God and desperately searched for some means to get back to a time of sweet communion and freedom. Something about the title of his book, The Knowledge of the Holy, convinced me to read it and I was hooked. It was exactly what I needed and brought light into that dark place. I read it twice, just to absorb it all. It brought my heart to its figurative knees whether I was reading in a waiting room or on my sofa.

Now I am in another not-quite-so-dark place and Delighting in God was billed as a follow-up to The Knowledge of the Holy. Delighting in God’s chapters are short enough to be read devotionally and each begins with a prayer of preparation and ends with a hymn, most from the 18^th and 19^th centuries. The 18 short chapters may be pondered and stretched into a 3-week devotional. But the book’s own purpose is clearly stated in Chapter 5: “to be faithful to point out” the problems with the evangelical church. And there went any hope I had for an uplifting sequel to The Knowledge of the Holy. However, as I continued to read I found myself both comforted and convicted.

The primary theme of the book is passion for God which we regain by contemplating God in all his aspects, beginning with the basics of how we know Him and why we may have an inadequate perception of Him, followed by expositions His attributes. Tozer also explores our limitations and the problems that occur when we hold a wrong or inadequate perception of God. He explains what it means to our lives to have a proper view God’s transcendence, His perfection, grace, mercy, and goodness.

I have been a Christian for more than 40 years. A new Christian has no problem with passion for God, but as time passes and life becomes difficult we all may come to a place of common humanity where our minds and hearts become skewed, crooked, warped and unable to receive from God. It is at such times that books like The Knowledge of the Holy and Delighting in God come along and untwist our hearts and minds so they are positioned once again to properly appreciate and delight in God.

This book was compiled and edited by James L. Snyder from audio recordings left by Tozer. It certainly does have the feel of an authentic Tozer for that I commend him. I was furnished a copy of Delighting in God free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.