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Delight yourself in the Lord. One of the most quoted and misunderstood verses in scripture.

An aging King David wrote this Psalm. He tells us in verse 25. The great king has seen a lot in his life. Men he loved turned on him. Men he trusted betrayed him. His own family allowed the throne to turn their hearts toward greed, turning brother against brother and sister and son against father.

We pull Psalm 37:4 out as a reminder God wants to give us the desires of our heart, but we neglect to mention it falls in the midst of a poem meant to help the reader be free of fret when the wicked seem to thrive. David seems to tell us when we delight in our Maker, the wicked of this world can’t defeat us. Evil may surround us, but those who delight in the Lord will never be consumed.

Unfortunately, in a time when busyness passes for productivity and the ability to be still has been labeled lazy, delighting in the work of the Lord has been confused with delighting in the Lord.

Don’t take that as a judgemental statement. I’m as guilty as the next. I get busy writing curriculum and creating atmosphere’s conducive to worship and forget to simply worship. I love what I do. I’m blessed to have the titles of pastor’s wife, worship leader, and Christian author. Each of those job descriptions offer a life of serving Jesus; however, when I get so enamored with serving, I miss my one-on-one with my Master, the object of my delight has shifted.

Take delight in the Lord. I do this best in the mornings before I get up. I like to spend those moments between waking and rising praising the Trinity–not for anything He has done, but simply for who He is. I will sometimes pray alphabet prayers. They sound something like this, “I praise you because you are Alpha and Omega, Beginning and End, Caring Creator, Divine and Everlasting . . .” Each time I pray A to Z, I try to find new descriptions and attributes. I want to focus on the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

I spend plenty of time thanking Him for what He’s done. I try to do that each time I see a tree or flower or I realize I avoided an accident. And before you think too highly of me, my list of requests are just as long as yours. I ask the Healer to heal and the Provider to provide. But I’ve found those morning prayers to be most effective in helping me delight in my Sovereign King which leads to Him giving me my heart’s desires.

And He will give you the desires of your heart. I used to think this meant God would fulfill my heart’s desires. If I simply delight in Him, I’d get what I want. I’ve discovered delighting in the Heavenly Trio transforms my heart. Jesus fills my heart with desire for things I didn’t even know I wanted. Yes, I get the desires of my heart, but my heart’s desire have changed. I no longer long for the things that would harm me. Material possessions mean nothing. The One who delights in me places His desires in my heart, and each one brings joy when it arrives.

Today for the first time I paid attention to the verses that follow Psalm 37:4. I had missed the connection between delighting in my Savior, and having a firm footing. The world can’t trip me up when I delight in Jesus. Even if I miss his path for a moment and stumble a bit, I can’t fall because He holds my hand. All because I delight in Him.

It’s easy to confuse loving to serve with loving our Father. Many have confused attending church with giving Jesus our attention. Though the former often flows out of the latter, they aren’t interchangeable. We can’t replace serving or attending for delighting. And when we do, it’s not just our Holy Waymaker we hurt, we cheat ourselves. So delight yourself in the one who is our Peace and Quiet, our Ruler and Shining Star. Enjoy being still in the presence of the King and Lover of our Souls. Because the One who holds all Majesty and Knowledge wants to fill your heart with desires that surpass human thoughts and bestow blessings beyond your wildest imagination.

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