Delighting in God

By Benjamin Liles

Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart. ~ Psalm 37:4, NKJV

Take a moment and truly allow this picture to say something to you. You may have a difficult situation your in; that you are facing at this moment. What does this picture say or do for you? Does it inspire hope? Does it give you a sense of rest, of peace? We're going to see that God designed for us to be at rest, to have peace. It means we take our eyes off what we're in and allow Him to work things out for us. 

While this isn't the first cry to us about the giving nature of God, he certainly counsels to being after God's heart. David first says, "Delight yourself also in the Lord." In Psalm 21 David says this: "You have given him his heart's desire and have not denied the request of his lips. Selah" (v. 2). The Selah can be either a contemplative sigh of God's goodness, and in other various versions in a small break from the next thought. But what does David mean when he says "delight yourself also in the Lord?"

The folks over at gotquestions.org offer this explanation, "Taking delight in the Lord means that our hearts truly find peace and fulfillment in Him. If we truly find satisfaction and worth in Christ, Scripture says He will give us the longings of our hearts" (https://gotquestions.org/delight-yourself-in-the-Lord.html). Jesus Christ said of the peace He gives to us is "Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled; do not be afraid" (John 14:27, Berean Study).

To make the point even more clear I can make the point of what David is saying. "Don't allow yourself to be troubled. Allow the Lord to give you peace. He sustains much more fully." And it's interesting I even say that. Jesus also said, "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened" (Matthew 7:7, 8, New American Standard). 

Is there anything we can do to make God do anything faster, quicker, better? No. Why sweat the small things then? That's the reason David says to "delight yourself in the Lord." For a time he was hunted day after day as Saul chased him as though he were a dog. Remember, David slew Goliath, not just on behalf of God, but for his family and nation of Israel. This is the same David, that when Saul's peace was taken would take up the lyre and play music for Saul. Then the torment in Saul would subside. David wrote what he did in one of those times where Saul was hunting him for no good reason.

Surely, if you're having one of those days or times where things just don't seem right or to be going your way take heart. God is a God of peace. Recall this Psalm: "He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters" (Psalm 23:2). He gives us a place of rest and peace if and when we allow Him. But it means our eyes come off of us and our surroundings, our pain, discomfort and all. Allow God to deal with it. To "delight in God" means to allow Him to work things out. Take joy, take peace, and above all let rest grant you the means to live in safety.