Delight Yourself in the Lord

"Delight yourself in the LORD; And He will give you the desires of your heart." (Psalm 37:4)

Sometimes when we read a verse like this we can almost let ourselves be stymied by the second half. We get hung up on thoughts like, "I can't seek God with such an impure motive" or "How can God really bless me if I seek Him so He will give me the desires of my heart?" Those thoughts aren't bad and actually reveal a heart that wants to honor the Lord, but we do need to get past them.

There are some things that we can consider that will help. The first is that we rarely seek God with a perfectly pure heart. Being human, we have issues, and we bring our issues wherever we go. The good news is that God is the fix for our issues. Seek the Lord and let Him deal with the issues. As you press into Him the impurities of your heart will begin to melt away. The Lord wouldn't have given us such a wonderful promise to hang us up in its application.

The other thing that helps is just to get after the first part of the verse. Delight yourself in the Lord. The second comes because of the first -- it really is a sowing and reaping in our walk with Him. Ask Him to help you do it. Press in and spend time with the Lord. Spend time in worship and prayer and in the Word. As you spend time with Him you will begin to delight in Him.

Delight Yourself in the Lord

"Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart". (Psalm 37:4)

What a great promise. But what does it meant to delight ourselves in the Lord? The Hebrew word for delight here is anag which means "to be soft and dainty." It also means "to be happy about" or "to make merry over" something. Those concepts flow out of the primary definition of being soft and dainty. Have I lost you yet? The etymology comes out of the concept of a woman (in Hebrew culture) becoming what a man might want in order to attract him.

Don't worry guys -- the verse doesn't meant we have to be soft and dainty. It does mean that we should be willing to become who God would have us to but also to "make merry over" and "be happy" about Him! When you are young and in love that other person becomes the biggest thing in you life! You want to please them. You want to make them happy. And you are happy to be in that relationship. How many of us enjoy relationships with morose people? Take delight in the Lord. God is good!

"For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure." (Philippians 2:13)