Delight Yourself

“Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.
Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.”

~Psalm 37:3-4

I’ve heard many Christians repeat this verse, especially verse 4, as if it’s the magic key to Heaven. I’ve heard preachers give sermons on delighting in the Lord that sounded like a discourse on why they prospered, and the congregation didn’t. I’m not saying there is anything wrong with material gain or having money. I like having money because I like boots and money allows me to have new boots…lots of them! I like being able to get from week to week without wondering how to pay the light bill or worrying about being able to keep my dogs’ Barkbox™ bill paid. In the long run, boots and Barkbox™ are things I don’t need but they certainly fall into the category of “desires.” However, in the biblical context, delighting in the Lord and the desires of our hearts has a different context that has nothing to do with material wealth, wants, or needs.

God isn’t about the wealth of this world, and why should He be? It all belongs to Him anyway. What He is concerned about is the state of our hearts and minds. When we pursue wealth and material desires, our minds become focused on that, which can lead to a dogged pursuit of something we never have enough of and will go to any lengths, even illegal ones, to possess. How many people get into trouble over money? How many people commit robbery and murder to have the things they want? The pursuit of getting what we don’t have knows no class, race, age, or social standing and in the end, it’s simply selfishness and greed that motivates people to get what they want at any cost. And that takes us far away from delighting in the Lord.

“The Lord is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth. He fulfills the desire of those who fear Him; He also hears their cry and saves them. (Psalm 145:18-19).”

God’s ways and our ways are often two very different things—God acts out of generosity and love, while we act out of selfish desires. But delighting in the Lord is the first step to aligning our will with His. Delighting in the Lord is wanting what He wants, saying what He says, doing what He does. It is coming to a place where our worth is found in Him and not in the things of this world. Some of the greatest figures in the Bible, like Noah, Job, David and Paul, delighted themselves in the Lord. They took true joy in knowing God and following Him, but it didn’t mean they had an easy life. Noah and his family were the only people spared when God destroyed the earth with the flood. Noah was a righteous man, but he spent roughly 100 years building the ark and getting the animals on board. Job was a wealthy man who delighted in the Lord, but he wasn’t spared great loss or physical pain when the devil came calling. David was a shepherd boy with nothing who became a wealthy king with everything. He is described as a man after God’s own heart but that didn’t keep him from great loss, betrayal, and threats against his life. Paul persecuted Christians until he met Jesus on Damascus road. He spent the rest of his life serving the Lord, which often meant being homeless, hungry, shipwrecked or in jail. All of these people delighted in the Lord and had the desires of their hearts, which was to know the Lord their God intimately and fully. When we delight in something, we desire that thing. We pursue that thing. We go to any lengths to have that thing. The same thing happens when we delight in the Lord.

“Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. For behold, those who are far from You shall perish; You put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to You.  But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all Your works (Psalm 73:25-28).”

Read Job 11-13; Psalm 73

©2018 Marie McGaha