Delightful. That’s
how I would describe her. Her eyes are
wide with wonder as she observes a butterfly. She squeals with excitement as
she chases bubbles or snowflakes or puppies. She gives spontaneous hugs and
randomly breaks out in song.
When I watch her, I understand why Jesus said, to enter the
kingdom of heaven, we must become like little children. Children know how to take delight.
Lately, the Lord has been whispering a verse to me.
“Delight
yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm
37:4
Sometimes when we become adults, we lose our sense of
delight and wonder. Problems and obligations throw a wet blanket on the flame
of our desires. We give up on dreams we once held dear, or we find satisfaction
in the wrong things. But the Bible tells us we’re supposed to delight in the Lord. It says He will give us our heart’s desires.
My Life
Application Study Bible says “to delight in someone means to experience great
pleasure and joy in his or her presence.
This happens only when we know that person well. So, to delight in the Lord, we must know him
better. Knowledge of God’s great love for us will indeed give us delight.”
I delight in the Lord when I’m aware of His Presence as I go
through my day. I delight in the Lord when I set aside time to talk to Him and
listen to Him speak to my heart in that still, small voice.
I delight in the Lord when I read and reread the love
letters He’s given me in His Word. If I
linger long enough, I may be rewarded with one of those Ah-ha moments when the
Scriptures seem to jump off the page and I gain a fresh insight. I find new
reasons to praise. He puts a new song in my heart.
I delight in the Lord when I take time to appreciate Him. Little
children take time to investigate the ordinary. But adults often take for
granted the good gifts God bestows on us each day. We lose our sense of
fascination with creation. As we delight in the Lord, we regain that sense of
childlike wonder. Every day can be a
special occasion when we recognize the goodness of God in the messiness of
life.
When we delight in the Lord, He gives us the desires of our
heart.
This phrase can be observed from two angles. When we spend
time with Him, God places the
appropriate desires in our hearts. He gives us a passion for the work He’s
called us to do. He sets our hearts on
fire with a desire to live out our purpose.
And, He fulfills our desires, the pure desires
He places in our hearts. Sometimes He does that in unexpected ways, but if we
come to Him with expectant hearts, waiting and watching, the Bible tells us
that He is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all we could ever hope or
dream. (Ephesians 3:20)
I can remember a time in my life when my heart was aching
for something I desperately wanted. I pleaded with God. I cried. I fasted. Then,
one day I realized that the thing I desired had become an idol. I’d elevated my
heart’s desire above my relationship with God. When I finally yielded to His
will and asked Him to do what was best, He gave me something better than I
could have imagined.
What delights you? Do
you delight in God’s creation—the intricate details of a butterfly’s wing or
the majesty of a mountain peak? Does the crashing of waves against a sandy
beach fill you with praise for the One who created the shore and said to the
ocean, “This far you may come, but no farther, and here your proud waves must
stop!”? (Job 38:11) Or maybe you best sense His presence under a canopy of
trees where all you hear are the crisp leaves skipping across the forest floor.
Do you find delight in knowing
that no matter what kind of curve balls the world may pitch to you, God is
always at your side, strengthening you, encouraging you, upholding you with His
righteous right hand?(Isaiah 41:10) Does it delight you to know that you are
loved with an everlasting love, and that no matter what tribulations you have
in the world, He has overcome them all?
Are there prayers
that need answers, problems that need solving, passions that need fulfilling? The
Bible tells us roll all of those over to Jesus and trust Him to give us what we
need.
“Commit
(literally, “roll”) your way to the Lord,
Trust
also in Him,
And
He shall bring it to pass.” Psalm 37:5
“Delighting” may look different for each of us. It may be an
ongoing conversation that we have with Him as we go about our day. It may be a
block of time in the morning, or at lunchtime, or in the evening that we set
aside for just for Him. It may include a weekend away-- a Restore Retreat, for
instance.
Let’s learn a lesson from little children and restore our
sense of delight. We can find beauty and rejoicing in any season, at any age,
when we’re living in close fellowship with God. When we delight in Him, He gives
us what our hearts truly desire.
Delighting in Him,
Margaret
Here’s a -link to one of my favorite Twila Paris songs, “Delight
My Heart.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgejOL1GxSs
