Important Ways to Take Delight in the Lord

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What does it mean to take “delight” in the Lord?

David wrote…

Take delight in the Lord,
    and He will give you your heart’s desires.

Psalm 37:4

The Life Application Bible notes say…

“To delight in someone means to experience great pleasure and joy in his or her presence.”

And I found the following synonyms for the word “delight.”

• Enjoyment
• Contentment
• Happiness
• Pleasure
• Satisfaction

When is the last time you experienced great pleasure just sitting in the Lord’s presence? Or it pleased you just to follow God’s will?

How often do you pause with contentment because He calls you His child? Or have you found Him to be the source of your total satisfaction?

So, I’m taking time today to ask . . . do we really “delight” in the Lord?

We like to focus on the second half of Psalm 37:4, the “He will give you your heart’s desire” part. But what we often forget is that it’s when we delight in Him—when He is our source of joy, contentment, peace, and happiness . . . it is His will for us that becomes our heart’s desire.

David went on to add the following…

Commit everything you do to the Lord. v. 5
Trust Him. v. 5
Be still in His presence. v. 7
Wait patiently for Him to act. v. 7
Don’t worry. v. 7
Stop being angry. v. 8
Put your hope in the Lord. v. 34

Psalm 37 addresses our tendency to look around with frustration because people who aren’t followers of Jesus or who don’t seem to “delight in the Lord” appear to be achieving or getting the very things we desire.

But through His Word, the Lord tells us to remain focused on Him and let Him deal with wickedness. It may take time, but aren’t we thankful that God does not act with swift retribution in response to our sinfulness?

So, let’s focus on ways we can take delight in the Lord. Let’s commit every area of our lives to Him . . . our health, our families, our careers, our possessions. Let’s invite Him to have authority over all of it and follow Him along the path He wills. Let’s completely trust His love and rest in His care.

Let’s take delight in the Lord and make Him our heart’s desire.

Because delighting in Him is the perfect response to His unfailing love and faithfulness…

For the Lord your God is living among you.
    He is a mighty Savior.
He will take delight in you with gladness.
    With His love, He will calm all your fears.
    He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.

Zephaniah 3:16

Let’s pray…

A Prayer to Faithfully Take Delight in the Lord

Father, You are so very good and gracious. You faithfully provide for us each day. And through Jesus, You made it possible for us to be provided for eternally. You saved us from our sins. You gave us a treasure we don’t deserve and one could never earn. We praise You.

I want to intentionally find my “delight” in you every day of my life. I want to fully trust You and commit everything I do to You . . . purposefully living in ways that give you glory. Please prompt me by the power of Your Spirit to pause, breathe, and find my contentment in Your presence. It’s so easy for me to hurry through the day trying to do it on my own failing to remember that You are always with me.

You promise that it is in Your presence that I will have everything I need to be patient when You ask me to wait. I will have what I need to stop worrying about the future. I will be able to humbly surrender the things that upset and anger me to Your loving care. And by Your grace, I will not give in to discouragement because my hope is in You, my Savior and my God. (Psalm 42:5)

You are my Savior and because of Your love, I am able to live with contentment, satisfaction, and peace. I delight in You. Amen.

Do you ever worry about being alone? Maybe you’re struggling with loneliness right now.

David wrote…

The Lord directs the steps of the godly.
    He delights in every detail of their lives.
Though they stumble, they will never fall,
    for the Lord holds them by the hand.

Psalm 37:24

Our God is with us. He delights in us. He is loving and forgiving . . . though we stumble, with His help, we will always be held by His victorious right hand.

This is the screensaver on my phone right now. It’s a constant reminder that God is who He says He is and that He keeps His promises. Promises to strengthen us and hold us up.

So, take delight in Him. He is the source of contentment and satisfaction. And He is everything we need when He is our heart’s desire.

May God bless you and may He be your delight and the desire of your heart.

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