About Psalm 37:4

"  Delight thyself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart."    Psalm 37:4


What does "delight thyself...in the Lord" mean?  I see it to mean that you delight to be in a loving relationship with a loving Creator.  He made you, formed you in your mothers womb, He died so that you and I could be saved and have a living personal relationship with Him.  Why should we not love Him?  Why should we not strive to delight in Him every second of every day?  It is a personal choice we have to make, to delight in Jesus.  It doesn't come naturally.  We are human and our flesh hates it when we forsake ourselves and try to live for Jesus.  However we're not in this fight alone!  The Scripture says, "Resist the Devil and he will flee from you." James 4:7b and "  Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke  is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30.  If we allow Him to work through us He can change us from vessels of dishonor to vessels of honor, able to be used for His purposes!

 Well, what about the second part of the verse: "...He shall give you the desires of your heart."?  Does this mean that He'll give us a great job, fancy car/house, no sorrow or persecution, no pain, etc.?  I don't think so!  Rather I believe this part to mean that when we delight in Jesus the desires of our heart will be what Jesus desires in us - love, joy, patience, a better relationship with siblings and parents, and most importantly a better relationship with Himself.  Why do I believe this?  I believe this because as we get to know Jesus better, delight in Him more, we'll desire what He desires and not our own selfish wants and ambitions.  Here are some verses to reaffirm my declaration:


"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." 2 Corinthians 5:17


"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.  I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them." Ezekiel 37:26-27


"Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the Angel.
Then He answered and spoke to those who stood before Him, saying, “Take away the filthy garments from him.” And to him He said, “See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes.” 
And I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.”
So they put a clean turban on his head, and they put the clothes on him. And the Angel of the LORD stood by." Zechariah 3:3-5

These verses show that once you become a Christian your priorities change.  No longer do you live for self but rather, you are a new creation, you have a new heart, and you live for Jesus.  No longer are you clothed with the dirty garb of sin but with the shining raiment of one changed by a living Savior and Lord!  So come to Jesus, rest in Him, delight in Him, and let him teach you so you may desire what He desires.


Learning to delight in Jesus,
Hannah