Delight In The Lord

Chuckle:  On his first safari, the American visitor sidled up to the experienced native guide and said smugly, “I know that carrying a torch will keep the lions away.”  “That’s true,” the guide replied, “but it depends on how fast you carry the torch.”

Quote: "O Lord our God, grant us grace to desire thee with our whole heart; that so desiring, we may seek, and seeking, find thee; and so finding thee, may love thee; and loving thee, may hate those sins from which thou hast redeemed us." --St. Anselm

DELIGHT IN THE LORD

    "Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart" (Psalm 37:4 NIV).

Do you and I really know and understand the deepest desires of our hearts? I think many of us deal mostly with the superficial wants in our lives, but do not take the time to let God show us how to touch the innermost and most important desire of our hearts. We may think we know what we want and go about trying to get it while our deepest yearning goes unsatisfied -- the desire that please God most. Yes, it is God's desire that you delight in Him; that you find your ultimate joy and pleasure in Him.

As God created us, He designed and shaped us to desire and delight in Him above all else. The psalmist put that desire this way, "As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God" (Psalm 42:1 NIV). God made our hearts for Himself because He understands that we will only be truly happy and content when He becomes our greatest delight. As we take delight in our Lord, we will commit our life to Him, and everything we do will be to glorify Him.

How do we go about making God our greatest desire and delight? Well, let's think about it from a human relationship point of view. When we delight in someone, it's usually someone we know well and we experience great pleasure and extreme joy while in his or her presence. Similarly, if we are to delight in the Lord, we must draw closer to Him and constantly seek to know Him better by spending time with Him. Also, our delight is heightened when we stop to consider how much He loves us.

If lasting happiness and contentment could be found in having material things, then most of us should be deliriously happy and content beyond description. But the things of this world can never bring us the contentment and fulfillment for which our God-made hearts so desperately yearn. Without God there will always be a great unfilled void in our lives. But if we continue to seek our happiness in the Lord, He will provide what our hearts desire most -- peace and contentment. If we delight in the Lord and seek Him as our most treasured possession, He will give us our greatest desire which, in reality, is Himself.

"Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again; Rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4 NIV).

Love, Jerry & Dotse