“Delight yourself in the Lord.” Psalm 37:4

The teaching of these words must seem surprising to those who have never known real godliness, but to the sincere believer they only restate a recognized and profound truth. The life of the believer is described as a “delight” in God, and therefore true religion will always overflow with happiness and joy. Anyone who doesn’t actively cultivate a relationship with God, including secular scholars who study religion as merely an intellectual pursuit or as a social curiosity, never look upon religion as a joyful thing; to them it is service, duty, or necessity, but never pleasure or delight. If they are personally involved in religion at all, it is either for personal gain or for cultural reasons only.

The thought of delight in religion is so strange to most people. No two words in their language stand further apart than “holiness” and “delight.” But believers who know Christ understand that delight and faith are so blessedly united, that the gates of hell cannot prevail to separate them. They who love God with all their hearts find that His ways are ways of joy, and all His paths are peace. Such joys, such overwhelming delights, such overflowing blessedness, they can continually discover in the Lord. Instead of merely serving Him out of habit, they follow Him even if all the world were to curse His holy name.

We do not revere God because of any compulsion. Our faith is no chain, and our confession of faith is no enslavement. We are not dragged to holiness, nor driven to duty. No, our piety is our pleasure, our hope is our happiness, our duty is our delight.

Delight and true religion are as united as root and flower; as indivisible as truth and certainty. They are, in fact, two precious jewels glittering side by side in a setting of gold.

“‘Tis when we taste Thy love, Our joys divinely grow, Unspeakable like those above, And heaven begins below.”

Question: What brings you delight? What ways does/should the Lord bring you delight?

By Charles Spurgeon
Used by Permission

FURTHER READING

God is My Delight

My Great Delight

Delight Yourself in the Lord

The post Delight in God appeared first on Thoughts About God.

I don’t recall who said it, but years ago I heard this statement:

“God carries in His heart the fulfillment to all the desires He has placed within yours.”

The Bible puts that thought in this way:

“Trust in the LORD, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass…rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him.” Psalm 37:3-7

Here are some things we can learn from this passage about the desires of our hearts:

1. The desires we carry in our hearts must come from God—His desires will be those of the Spirit and not of the flesh.
2. He is the only one who can fulfill the desires He has placed within us—the fulfillment of these desires will glorify Him. He doesn’t say to us, “I have placed My desires within you, now it’s up to you, go out and make them happen.”
3. He places His desires in us as a result of us delighting in Him—we will desire what He desires, delight in what He delights in, and rejoice over the things He rejoices over.
4. He wants us to trust in His faithfulness to fulfill those desires.
5. Don’t give up on any desire that God has placed within you.

What should you do as you wait upon Him to fulfill those desires? Do not attempt to strive, manipulate, or struggle in yourself to fulfill them. God has promised you that He will give you the desires of your heart; God has said that He will bring it to pass.

As you wait, rest and wait patiently for Him. There is no benefit in pressing or pushing, but rather be at peace, knowing that God’s timing is always perfect and His ways always bring the best.

By Roy Lessin
Used by Permission

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The post The Desires of the Heart appeared first on Thoughts About God.