Megan Evans, Women’s Ministry Director, LHBC
Psalm 37:3-4 (ESV)
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.
Believers, have you stopped recently to think about who you have given your heart to? We spend a lot of time thinking about a lot of things, but do we spend time thinking about what can bring our life true delight? Do you enjoy your relationship with the Lord? Do you enjoy dwelling in His pasture?
When we surrender our heart to the Lord, it is not just a club membership, like a gym that we join but use less and less, until we need to shed a few pounds. There is truth and joy in the assurance of our salvation, and certainly there is community among believers, but do we also “delight” in the Lord?
“Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” At first glance this verse might seem to suggest that if we just do the right things, God will grant us everything we wish for and dream of that could make us happy. The opposite then might seem to reason, that if we are not getting what we want, we must not be pleasing God. And perhaps, if I just had what I wanted, then I could be happy. The Bible speaks to every raw layer of the human soul and gives us real people and real accounts to help steer us to the delight God has in store for us.
King Solomon “had it all” by human standards and he came to the conclusion that it was all meaningless (Ecclesiastes 2:8). On the opposite end of the spectrum, the book of Job tells the account of a man who lost everything, but found joy. So if it’s not the things, and the stuff, the people, the achievements, the health and vigor, or the absence of suffering…what gives us delight in the Lord?
It comes back to relationship. The word “delight” used in Psalm 37 is not a me-first kind of word. It is relational and has roots in words like delicate, luxury, joy and enjoyment. God’s love for us is lavish, and He invites us to lavishly love Him back. We can be vulnerable in this safe relationship and completely give our whole heart with no worry that we will one day be unloved. It is an everlasting covenant (Genesis 17: 7).
As in any relationship, the more time we spend with someone, the more we get to know the person. The same is true for God. He invites us to spend time with Him-in fact he never wants us to leave His side! He tells us to dwell in His safety and thrive. And so as we trust the Lord and seek Him in His Word and in prayer, amazingly our heart begins to desire God’s will.
Delight in the Lord–in the song of our faith, enjoy the sweet note that lingers and the delicate high notes that softly sing into your soul. Let yourself experience His great love for you. Delight yourself in the Lord today.
PRAYER FOR TODAY:
Father God, thank you for loving me with lavish love-the kind of love that the world can’t measure. Lord, I delight in you today. You are my God, and I am your child. Align my will with yours. Remind me often to trust you and to dwell in your presence daily. In Jesus Name, Amen.
MEMORY VERSE OF THE WEEK:
1 Samuel 3:10
And the Lord came and stood, calling as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant hears.