Aligning Our Hearts with God’s
“Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” ~Psalm 37:4
This verse contains a powerful truth that has helped guide the course of my life through many dangers, toils, and potential snares.
To delight in the Lord means to find our utmost satisfaction and joy in Him. It’s the word used in the Song of Solomon to describe a husband’s delight in his bride (7:6). To delight in God means we esteem His glory, cherish His presence, and submit to His will above all. We know we delight in God when we give ourselves to cultivating a deep and intimate relationship with Him. The Christian’s delight in the Lord should surpass any other pursuit or desire that competes for his attention.
When our delight aligns with the Lord, a beautiful transformation takes place deep within us. As we draw closer to God, our hearts begin to reflect Him and our desires begin to mirror His. As this happens, our priorities shift from self-centered ambitions to much more God-centered ones, seeking His kingdom and righteousness above our own (Matthew 6:33).
Delighting in the Lord is not a one-time event; it’s a lifelong journey. Daily we should seek God's presence and pursue growth in wisdom, discernment, and understanding of His ways. This ongoing alignment with the Lord thrives in an atmosphere of intimacy with God, in which our consciences become increasingly sensitive to anything that might displease Him, our desires become progressively attuned to His purpose, and our hearts yearn more and more for things that bring glory to Him and extend the borders of His kingdom. How is your journey going? Have you wandered from His path? Has your heart grown cold? Has your delight waned?
Understanding this helps us grasp the truth of the second half of the verse. God granting our desires is never a case of God giving carte blanche to materialistic wish fulfillment among His people. God grants the desires of those who delight in Him. The two parts of that sentence go together like water and wet. The point is: the people who delight themselves in God are going to be the kind of people who have a certain kind of desire. The verse, therefore, speaks of God's transformative work within us, aligning our desires with His perfect will. As such, He forms within the heart of the God-delighting soul desires that are in harmony with His plans and purposes, bringing true fulfillment and joy into our lives. These are the kinds of desire God loves to fulfill!
In all of this, of course, the God-delighter will hold his desires in a light grasp, knowing that God’s ways and His timing are different from ours – at times, profoundly so (Isaiah 55:8-9). When God frustrates our desires, we must continue to delight in Him, allowing Him to actively shape our desires and conform our hearts to His perfect plan, confident that He knows best and will work all things together for our good.
When this becomes difficult, it is generally an early sign that our desires have started to drift – that we have begun to delight in the gifts of God more than the One who stands ready to give them. Such a drift the God-delighting soul will never permit to go unchecked and unchallenged for long.
As we conclude the devotional this morning, let me challenge you to examine your desires. In what direction do they point? As we lean into the summer, may delighting in the Lord become the compass that leads you further up and deeper into His presence. There really is no more delightful place to be.