“Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.”
Psalm 37:4, NIV
The very word delight sounds intriguing, doesn’t it?
It means “to take pleasure in.” A delightful experience is one that we enjoy–one that we want to repeat. It brings satisfaction, joy, bliss. For many, delight is something reserved for vacation or a once-in-a-while treat. But David tells us in this Psalm that if we delight ourselves in the Lord, He will give us the desires of our hearts.
If we look at the context, David is comparing the life of the wicked to the life of the righteous. He is telling us that if we are looking around at those who are doing wrong and getting upset because they seem to have it all, we need to remember that if we keep our focus on the Lord, not only will we be blessed, but He will give us the very desires of our heart.
I used to read this verse and not really understand what it meant to delight in the Lord, but the more I seek Him, the sweeter our time becomes. I am very jealous of my time with Him. It never seems to be long enough, and when I have a Saturday that I can spend as long as I want, it is a delight indeed.
I awoke this morning at 3:30 with a migraine. I lay there for an hour before it occurred to me that if I just got up and started my coffee, I would have some extra time with Jesus. The migraine didn’t go away, but the next two hours were a delight.
We must remember that when we come before the Lord to read His Word, pray, listen, thank, and worship Him, He always shows up. What could be better than to have the Creator of the universe meet with you in the secret place and speak to your heart?
But what if your heart is broken and hurting right now? Maybe all you want is to have your heart made whole again, to be able to delight in anything. Does God really care?
“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”
1 Peter 5:7
Believer, God cares about everything that touches your life. He’s not disinterested in the petty things or unmoved by the major things that hurt you. He is in the business of healing and restoration.
I think we sometimes dismiss verses like this one because we think that it’s just a platitude. God would never really just give me whatever my heart desires, right?
That’s because we are putting the effect before the cause. If our focus is on what our heart desires, then we are not delighting in the Lord. If we are delighting in the Lord, we have the desire of our heart.
Because deep inside, every heart is truly longing for the One we were made for. And the more time we spend with Him and in His Word, the more His desires will become our desires.
When we feed our spirit with spiritual things, our souls will be satisfied. That’s what it means to delight yourself in Him.
So how about it? Want to have the desires of your heart? Surrender your heart to the One who created you, who knows your every need, every struggle, every heartache, every desire. Trust Him with your heart. Seek Him in the quiet place, and you will find the desire of your heart is fulfilled.