WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO DELIGHT YOURSELF
IN THE LORD?
(Psalm 37:4) Delight thyself also in the LORD;
and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
* INTRODUCTION:
* God want to bless the life of the Christian of multiple blessings if
we only choose to delight in the Lord’s spiritual things that He gave to us.
* SOME GREAT THINGS THE CHRISTIANS SHOULD DELIGHT IN THE
LORD.
1. DELIGHT THYSELF GOD'S EXCELLENT PLAN IN in YOUR LIFE.
(Philippians 1:9-10)
[9]And
this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in
all judgment;
[10]That ye may approve things
that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of
Christ;
We are all bent to admire our heroes. Whether it’s an athlete, musician
or entertainer, we enjoy following their accomplishments. But God created us
with the longing to admire all the wonders of who He is and His excellent
greatness. Looking to a person to fill this God-given desire will never bring
true delight or satisfaction.
*Realize “the god of
this world blinds the minds of unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light
of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God (2 Corinthians 4:4). So, their desire to worship will
always turn toward idolizing a person, or belief system, unless the Holy Spirit
opens their eyes to the truth. Be humbled to consider Paul’s observation in 1 Corinthians 6:11, “And such
were some of you.” (Take a deep breath. Let that sit
with you for a moment. Delight in how excellent is God that He opened your eyes
to realize your need for a Savior!)
When you delight in the excellencies of God you will come to understand
that everything about Him is the answer to your longings. Devote yourself to
discovering in the Bible what He reveals about His character and ways and you
cannot help but delight in His excellence.
2. DELIGHT THYSELF IN GOD'S PRESENCE.
The Hebrew word for delight (anag) commands us to find enjoyment in God.
The Lord wants us to incline our hearts toward Him –– to lean in to Christ
where we will discover unspeakable joy.
God promises, ( James 4:8 ) “Draw near to
God and He will draw near to you.” How cool is that? The Creator of
heaven and earth is more than willing to draw near to you if you would but lean
into His presence through prayer, meditation on Scripture and hearing Him speak
to you through His Word.
When I travel to speak at women’s events my husband really misses me.
(We are empty-nesters so the house can feel rather lonely.) He texts often
while I am away –– which is delightful! Can you imagine how it would hurt our
intimacy if I chose to ignore his texts until I returned home from my trip?
3.DELIGHT THYSELF IN GOD'S PERFECT WORDS.
( Psalms 1:1-2 ) [1]Blessed is the man that walketh
not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor
sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
[2]But his delight is in the law
of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
* God’s is perfect and gives total encouragement in their Christian
life.
(Psalms 19:7-11) [7]The law of the LORD is perfect,
converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.
[8]The statutes of the LORD are
right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening
the eyes.
[9]The fear of the LORD is clean,
enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.
[10]More to be desired are they
than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
[11]Moreover by them is thy
servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.
* The Words of God is a lamp unto our feet.
( Psalms 119:105 ) Thy word is a lamp unto my feet,
and a light unto my path.
* The Words of leads us not to commit sin before God.
(Psalms 119:11) Thy word have I hid in mine heart,
that I might not sin against thee.
* The Words of God promise us to be victorious and having a prosperous
life.
( Joshua 1:8 ) This book of the law shall not
depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that
thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then
thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
4. DELIGHT THYSELF IN GOD'S WORKING AND MOVING IN YOUR LIFE.
( Ephesians 2:10 ) For we are his workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we
should walk in them.
When you hear that God commands you to delight in Him you may be tempted
to think, I’d better pull myself up by my religious bootstraps and figure out
how to enjoy God. But God does not want you to delight in Him out of duty.
Rather, whatever God commands Christians to do, He always provides not only the
ability, but also gives us the unction to do it.
Be inspired by this promise found in Philippians 2:13, “For it is God
who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” And be
encouraged by the Apostle Paul’s words, “[I am] confident of this very thing
that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of
Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6).
If you even want to figure out how to delight in God it’s evidence of
His work in you. Isn’t that exciting? And when God gives you the will He also
empowers you to “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling”
(Philippians 2:12) Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have
always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence,
work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
5. DELIGHT THYSELF GOD'S MERCY AND COMPASSION.
God’s abundant mercy is something I will never fully comprehend. Because
He is merciful we can stand before Him whiter than snow under the cleansing
blood of Christ. I don’t know about you but I know I don’t deserve God’s mercy
or Christ’s compassion. “Come now and let us reason together,’ Says the Lord,
‘Though your sins are like scarlet they shall be white as snow…” (Isaiah 1:18).
I know the shameful woman I would have become without Christ’s saving mercy.
And I stand in awe that He would save a sinner such as I. How about you?
Together let’s pray the words of Lamentations 3:22-23. And may it stir
in us genuine delight in The Lord:
Lamentations 3:22-23
“The
steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they
are new every morning. Great is thy faithfulness.”
A.W. Tozer said, "We pursue God because, and only because, He has
first put an urge within us that spurs us to the pursuit (and) when the Holy
Spirit shows us God as He is we admire Him to the point of wonder and DELIGHT.”
Oh that His Spirit would raise up a generation who so admires God that
delighting in Him becomes our insatiable pleasure that far exceeds anything
this world has to offer.
* God bless you all always *
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