Delighting in the Lord
by Kristel Fazio
“Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.”
Psalm 37:4
I grew up homeschooling in the 1980s. Homeschooling was a bit of an anomaly back then and though I knew it was a good fit for me, I found myself developing a long wish list as I became a teenager. My desires for experiences grew quickly...wishing I had more friends, or for the ability to go to "extracurricular activities", or just to be more independent. I felt uncertain about my future and longed to know what God had in store for me. How could I move out and get a job when I was so dependent on my parents? I knew I wanted to be a nurse, but could I achieve all the steps to fulfill this desire? Would I ever get married and have a family? I had so many desires and questions that left me feeling overwhelmed and uncertain...
In my high school years, I started the habit of keeping a Scripture reading journal. I would read a passage, write my thoughts about it, and then write out my prayer requests. During this time, I read through the Psalms and found my beloved verse, Psalm 37:4, “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” I could hardly believe what I read - to obtain my desires and all these "wishes", I just had to delight in God? Everything in me felt I should strive, worry, and try even harder to get what I wanted. Maybe it was the "things should always be fair" part of my personality, but it just seemed impossible that God would want me to simply delight in Him to get the desires of my heart.
It often appeared that the world around me was falling apart and the only way to move forward was to resign myself to having to work feverishly to get anywhere or anything. Yet, this message of delighting in God and having joy was the opposite of what the world told me. Reading Psalm 37 and knowing God's heart drew me closer to Him, as I realized how deeply loving and gracious He was.
Looking back, it took me a long time to begin to grasp what it meant to delight in God. In Skip Moen's Hebrew Word Study on Psalm 37:4, we read:
"Delight – This word (‘anag) is used for a garment that is delicate or luxurious. Here it means to feel great favor toward something. But notice carefully the object of our delight. It is not His forgiveness. It is not His rescue. It is not His blessings or promises. This verse makes it clear that we do not delight in something God has done for us. We are delighted in His person – in who He is. Just like a fine piece of silk, the delight is not because of what can be done with the cloth, but because the cloth itself is so marvelous. The subject is desirable because it is attractive in and of itself."
It wasn't until I was in my early 20s that I learned that delighting in God was actually becoming what I desired! This is a BIG DEAL - because delighting in God isn't a formula for getting what you want. Example - "God you are so amazing and delightful, so now I expect a new car to appear in my driveway or the boy I have a crush on to ask me out". No! I found that my contentment came from knowing God AS the desire of my heart. He was marvelous not because of what I could get from Him, but because of who He was. Having this settle into my heart, made my steps lighter and gave me joy for the future. There was freedom to just be thankful and expectant that God was doing great things in the midst of difficulty...and that He was my source of contentment and hope.
This was such a great picture of God's grace to me. Just as He gave me his own Son as my Savior, He allowed me to delight in Him to fully see how following His will could become in line with what I desired. As I read further in this Psalm (vs. 23), I read that He establishes my steps and even delights in me! What a gift!
Reflect & Read:
When you feel you have unmet desires and you are uncertain about your future, be encouraged that God asks you to delight in Him. Read all of Psalm 37. As you read, list the ways God shows you how faithful He is in every situation. Pray that delighting in God will become your heart's desire and your true source of contentment.
Memorize: Psalm 37:4 & 23 - "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart…The steps of a man are established by the Lord, And He delights in his way.”