FEBRUARY 20
Psalm 37:4, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”
The Rolling Stones had it mostly right when they sang, “You can’t always get what you want.” However, there is one way in which you truly can get exactly what you need.
This psalm draws a sharp contrast between the lives of the righteous and the wicked. The psalmist highlights that while the righteous are sustained and blessed by the Lord, the wicked face futility in their lives and will ultimately face judgment.
In this context, verse 4 offers both a better path and a beautiful promise. To “delight” in something means to take joy and satisfaction in it, much like indulging in an ice cream sundae. However, in the grander sense of life, to delight in something is to actively pursue it as the object of your affection. The wicked delight in sin—there’s temporary pleasure to be found in accumulating possessions, indulging in lustful desires, and seeking power (Hebrews 11:25; 1 John 2:15-17).
On the other hand, to delight in the Lord is to find one’s deepest joy and satisfaction in Him. It is to seek after God as the goal in life (Philippians 3:10). This door is wide open to us, thanks to the saving work of His Son. There is no one to prevent us from walking through it—except for ourselves. When we set our hearts on pursuing God, we will find Him ready and willing to meet us there. As James 4:8 promises, “Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.”
When our hearts are aligned with God’s will, He is pleased to fulfill our desires. Imagine, for instance, that we would never hand over our credit card to a drunken sailor, knowing it would be wasted on foolishness. But if we entrusted it to a faithful friend who would spend it according to our instructions, it would be a completely different matter. As Charles Spurgeon wisely noted, “Men who delight in God desire or ask for nothing but what will please God.” In seeking after God, we not only fulfill His will, but experience in Him that what is truly “good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2).
“The desires of God, and the desires of the righteous, agree in one; they are of one mind in their desires.”—John Bunyon
Application Questions: What do you delight in? What does it mean to delight oneself in the Lord? To what extent are your desires aligned with God’s?
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