Delight & Desire

Many of us are familiar with the scripture passage of Psalm 37:4-5 that says: "Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act."

All too often, we read promising scriptures like this and we keenly focus on the "good parts" that we are hoping will manifest in our lives. We think to ourselves, "Oh see? If I'm just delighted to be in Christ then God will give me what I want...right?" And then we go about our way with this very whimsical attitude towards our walk with Christ and even towards scripture.

We know there is more meaning to this passage. We know that God does not work like a genie in the bottle. We know that sometimes the desires of our hearts are not aligned with God's will - and our desires can even be wicked at times (Jeremiah 17:9). Yet we continue this sort of blissful ignorance towards God's Word with the wishful thinking that God does not expect more from us.

Can I tell you - He does. God's Word is not meant to be treated carelessly or with little regard. His Word is life. His Word is truth. We must not just read His Word - we must study it. We must learn it. We must look past the anecdotal Christian catchphrases we borrow from scripture - like "Just name it and claim it", or "Just believe and be saved", or "Delight in God and you can get the desires of your heart" - and instead we must seek true understanding. We must read with a desire to understand. We must prayerfully consider the scriptures. We must grow in our knowledge of Christ!

So, now that I got that out of the way, I want to really talk about this passage of Scripture and share with you a thought that the Lord gave me in my prayer and devotion this week.

What does it mean to "Delight yourself in the Lord?"

Have you ever really thought about that? What was the Psalmist David meaning when he said, "Delight yourself in the Lord."?

First, we must consider contextually what this psalm was about. David precedes this passage by telling the believer not to consumed with worry or fear of evildoers. He also admonishes not to be jealous of the unbelievers for what they may be doing, or what they may have in material possessions. He tells us that their time is limited before the Lord will destroy them.

Instead of worry, fear, and envy by way of comparison - common issues believers seemed to deal with back then and still deal with now - he says to trust in the Lord and delight in the Lord. Theologian Adam Clarke depicts what "delight" means in this passage as, "Expect all thy happiness from Him, and seek it in Him."

James Montgomery Boice, an American scholar and theologian said, "The reason many apparent Christians do not delight in God is that they do not know him very well, and the reason they do not know him very well is that they do not spend time with him.”

The main thing here is that our greatest joy should be found in Christ, and nothing else. Furthermore, comparison is the killer of joy. I'll say that again:

"COMPARISON IS THE KILLER OF JOY."

How often do you spend time worrying about what might happen to you? I know some people that live life constantly saying "What if this happens?" and, "What if that happens?"

Matthew 6:34 says, "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

Worry and fear have no place in the mind and heart of the believer. Worry and fear do not come from God - God does not give us that spirit. So when we experience worry and fear we must immediately cast it away and surrender it to Christ!

Also, when we start to look at others and constantly compare ourselves to them, we risk becoming envious in our hearts. Our desires become focused on the things we do not, or cannot have, instead of desiring God. The more we look at our neighbor and long for their "stuff", the sooner we become ungrateful and dissatisfied with our own life. Envy is the root of discontent and bitterness.

So then, what are we to do? Instead of worrying and living in fear, and instead of caring about what everyone else is doing or has, we delight ourselves in the Lord. We turn to God and find everything we need and want in Him.

When we do this, the scripture says, "...and He will give you the desires of your heart."

Now, this is where a lot of people get derailed. They say, "See! The Bible says it right there! If I am delighted in God, then He will give me whatever I want." WRONG. That is not what scripture says, or even means. Anyone who thinks this way, or believes this is what the scriptures mean, is either naive, immature, or just blatantly ignorant.

God doesn't just have your favorite Lambo (Lamborghini) sitting in the 10-car garage of your brand new, ocean-view, dream mansion waiting for everyone who is delighted by God. Come on...let's get real.

Scripture repeatedly teaches us not to put our value or desire into material and earthly possessions. Jesus told the Rich Young Ruler, in Mark 10, to sell everything he owned, give to the poor, and then follow Him. So the interpretation of this Scripture does not mean that if we delight in God, that he will bless us with an overabundance of flashy material possessions. Remember, one of the problems in the first place was that the people of God were envying what their neighbor had.

So then, what does this mean?

The idea here is that the one who truly delights himself in the Lord will find that his heart and desires begin to change. He will no longer desire the things of the world, but instead he will desire more of Christ. The more he delights in Christ, the more his own will aligns with the heart and will of God.

Theologian Alexander MacLaren explains the meaning of this passage as follows: "Most of all, it shows that when we delight ourselves in the LORD, He gives us our delight. If He is our delight, He gives us more of Himself."

Let that sink in. What a perfect way to interpret and summarize the meaning of this powerful promise. When we delight ourselves in God, God supplies the antidote to our wanting heart. That antidote is Himself. And the more I delight in Him, and the more of Himself he reveals to me, the more I will desire Him.

The meaning of this scripture - that we shall receive the "desires of our heart" - is that Christ is the ultimate answer to living a life of meaning, purpose, and satisfaction. The more I seek Him, the more I find Him. The more of Him I receive, the more of Him I long for. My delight in Christ becomes my desire.

"MY DELIGHT IN CHRIST BECOMES MY DESIRE."

Finally, this passage ends by saying, "Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him, and He will act." This statement is simply an affirmation of the promises of God. If you commit your life to Christ and place your trust in Him, His promises will be true. God's promises never fail. They are "yes and amen".

So, I leave you with this thought: How is your desire for Christ? Is it weak? Or is it burning with passion? Your desire for Christ is directly tied to your delight in Him.

There are many songs and hymnals that talk about our desire for God. In recent years, a great group of family gospel singers - The McKains - wrote a powerful song called, "Only Jesus".

The chorus simply says these powerful words:

Only Jesus, Jesus is all, all I need, all I ever need.

I'll be satisfied with you Jesus. I'll be satisfied with you Jesus.

(Check out the YouTube song here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihu8suvIh-0v)

Are you satisfied with Jesus? Is He your everything?

I challenge you to prayerfully consider this thought.

All the best,

Gabe Gonzalez