Delight in the Lord

 

Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4 NIV

 While the Bible teaches, the heart is the most deceptive of all,

The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? Jeremiah 17:9 NIV

God will give its desires IF we "take delight in Him."

 There is no way we can fake delighting in Him because He knows all things - even those that are hidden from anyone's sight. He looks at our hearts.

A person may think their own ways are right, but the Lord weighs the heart. Proverbs 21:2 NIV

¹²For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. ¹³Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. Hebrews 4:12-13 NIV

So when we say,

"Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4 NIV

we can safely say that if we give God what we have, He can turn it into something great!

Imagine, even the most deceitful of all things, our heart can receive its desires IF we delight in the Lord!

God can make miracles with what we have IF we give it to Him.

 

Things we can learn from delighting in the Lord:

 

God's capable hands make the impossible possible.

Do not be afraid of having just a little because nothing is too small in the hands of God.

In John 6:1-13, Jesus fed the five thousand from a boy's 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish and had some left over.

¹¹ Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish. ¹² When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” ¹³ So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten. John 6:11-13 NIV

God's hands are not only capable. They are powerful!

 

God's powerful hands turn the ordinary extraordinary.

Honor God with what you have and what you have will become something you never even thought possible. He says,

Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know. Jeremiah 33:3 NIV

In 2 Kings 4:1-7, an ordinary small jar of olive oil turned into something extraordinary with God. It provided the widow and her two sons money to pay for their debts and to have budget for their entire lives.

She went and told the man of God, and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left.” 2 Kings 4:7 NIV

Yes, God's hands are capable and powerful, but more importantly, they are loving.

God's loving hands keep the obedient blessed.

Receiving the desires of one's heart requires delighting in the Lord. Those whose delight is in the Lord obeys with all their hearts.

If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. Deuteronomy 28:1 NIV

 Partial obedience is disobedience. One must FULLY obey God. To the one who understands how much God loves him/her, obedience is not a problem.

In John 2:1-10, Jesus’ first miracle required the obedience of the servants. He gave the instructions, and they obeyed.

⁶Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. ⁷Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim. ⁸Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.” They did so John 2:6-8 NIV

He did not only turn 6 stone jars of water into wine, He also saved the couple who just got married and their families from embarrassment.

How many times have the Lord did this for us? He saved us from embarrassment and from unnecessary pains.

This is what I believe - When we are serving God faithfully, obeying His commands, searching His will, yet we do not receive what we ask for in prayers, the Lord is protecting us.

When I was newly married, my wife had to go on a mission trip, her and the team she was with missed their bus. They had no choice but to call the team who will meet with them to let them know they will be late. They were able to catch the next bus. On their way, they saw the bus they missed, and it was burning. Had they ridden it, they would have injured themselves. The Lord protected them. It seemed negative when they missed it, but because of what they witnessed, they understand it was a blessing.

Under God's wings, Christ's sufficiency is the answer. Problem begins when we consciously step out of God's protection and still DEMAND that He bless us as if we are obedient to Him.

 

The truth is, Christ is the answer! He knows best even when we think we know ourselves more.

That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:10 NIV

Even seemingly odd situation is a blessing to those whose hearts delight in the Lord.