Mission Venture Ministries

Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4 

The idea behind this verse and others like it is that, when we truly rejoice or “delight” in the eternal things of God, our desires will begin to parallel His and we will never go unfulfilled. 

What is your greatest desire? We often read this passage and assume that it means God will give us whatever we want. However, this Scripture reveals that we will have the desires of our heart if we desire fellowship with Him. 

To delight in the Lord means to take pleasure in discovering more about Him and in following Him, and as we do, the Holy Spirit aligns our heart’s desires with His, which places us in a position to experience His blessings. 

When we commit our way to God, we allow our thoughts, goals, and lifestyle to be shaped by His will and the things He loves. In other words, we acknowledge His right to determine whether our longing fits His plan. 

If we rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him, we can rely on Him to work out circumstances, even when the desire He’s given us seems impossible. When He is our first love, our heart becomes focused on making His glory known within our life. 

God wants to give us our heart’s desires in His time, meaning, when we’re aligned with His will. Consequently, as we learn to enjoy Him for who He is, our self-focused desires are replaced by His perfect will and purpose for us. 

When we learn to delight in the Lord, we are forever changed and discover unspeakable joy. 

The reason many supposed Christians do not delight in God is that they do not know Him very well, and the reason they do not know Him is that they do not spend time with Him. A true believer on the other hand, who trusts God, has the capability to find true delight in the Lord. 

Trust, obedience, patience, and humility can all be summed up in the phrase, “Delight yourself in the Lord.” We should be awestruck with the Lord and all that He is, rather than focusing on the things which the world seeks. 

We need to come to the realization that in delighting in the Lord, “He will give you the desires of your heart.” This doesn’t mean however, that He will give us anything our selfish heart desires. If we are delighting ourselves in the Lord, then our desires will be in line with His desires. The verse in Matthew 6:33 tells us similarly what the Old Testament says: “Seek first God’s kingdom and righteousness and all these things [your desires] will be added unto you.” Thus we see that finding delight in God is a key to a happy, satisfied life. 

This world can never satisfy our deepest longings, but if we choose to delight in God’s way, He will always provide above and beyond our expectations. Jesus said, “Whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:14). 

When we look at this psalm in its entirety it is to encourage those who trust in God that the wicked will not win. If God’s people will continue to “trust in, submit to, and wait on” God, their “desire” for righteousness to prevail will be satisfied. 

• Justice will be done. The wicked will be punished (Psalm 37:2, 13, 17, 35-36, 38).
• The Lord will protect His children and give them strength in times of difficulty (Psalm 37:15-17, 24, 39-40).
• The righteous will receive an eternal inheritance (Psalm 37:18, 29, 37).
• The Lord will sustain them in times of need (Psalm 37:19).
• The righteous will experience the Lord’s love and faithfulness (Psalm 37:28). 

When we patiently trust in God and submit ourselves to His care and protection, He will be faithful to sustain, protect, and provide. And we will see His justice carried out in His time. The wicked will not prevail. 

Therefore, rather than becoming incensed because of what the wicked do, it is far better to trust in God and continue to do good, because, “Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him” (Jeremiah 17:7). 

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