May 24, 2017 / Devotionals
Delight & Desire
“Delight yourself in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.”-Psalm 37:4
This morning I went for a walk after reading this verse and feel like I learned a few things about myself, God, and our relationship.
True delight is in the Lord
It is possible. Being in a relationship with God isn’t meant to be filled with pain and sacrifice. Yes, there will be times of this but at the core of my relationship with God there is delight.
For me – I most often find delight in God through nature, quietness, and a deep sense of connection emotionally. (I learned this from the Sacred Pathways Assesment.) These are all encouraged. God wants me to be excited and joyful about our relationship and not just treat Him as an item on my to-do list each morning. He wants me to find ways to delight in Him – to pursue time in nature, quietness with Him, however I find delight in Him – that’s what he want’s me to chase after.
The desires of my heart are good
This verse implies to me that the real desires of my heart are good at the core. On the surface the individual things that I desire and seek after may not be best for me (sex, money, power, fame) but I think all of these things are rooted in a God-made, pure desire for love, acceptance, security, joy, and peace.
I’m reading a book about pornography (Surfing for God) and one concept that’s extremely refreshing is reading that my heart in Christ is good at it’s core. I still have a sin nature but there’s freedom knowing that my desires and longings are good and that I can bring those to God and not hide from him in shame of things I want.
God wants to meet the desires of MY heart
He desires to meet me personally. The things I want in my soul are shaped uniquely by my personality and experiences in life. Incredibly, God can individually meet all of our unique desires because they’re all similarly rooted in a foundational desire for Him.
I want to find more delight in Him knowing He and He only can meet my desires.
