“Delight yourself also in the Lord—and He will give you the desires of your heart.”
Psalm 37:4
When this is our “Magnificent Obsession,” we’ll know what Jesus meant when He said “If you shall ask anything in My Name, I will do it” (Jn. 14:14) because we’re praying “according to His Will” (I Jn. 5:14).
Are you “delighting yourself also in the Lord” today, Pilgrim? Are you “hungering and thirsting for Him” more today than you were yesterday—or have you taken your eyes off Him and more enamored with the world’s treasures?
Oh how strong our three, spiritual “Achilles’ Tendons” (I Jn. 2:16)!
The Hebrew word “anag” is used here for “delight” and also means “to be soft or pliable, delicate, luxurious, etc.” Thus, it’s the picture of exquisite splendor—the picture of a king or wealthy person lying in silky-soft, velvety satin. Even now we can picture this scene of one surrounded by royal purple, exorbitantly expensive sheets, pillows, comforter, etc.
So, again, the question is “Are we delighting ourselves in the Lord this way?”
If we’re not careful, we’ll spend more time longing for the “things” of the world than we do “in the Lord.” Our focus will be more on what He can do for us or give to us than it is on Who He is. And, consequently we’ll end up having the wrong “desires of our heart” because we “pray amiss” (James 4:3).
We’ll know we’re moving closer to “delighting ourselves in Him” when He’s increasingly our “singular desire.” No longer will Mt. 6:33—“Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness”—be a guilt-invoking verse because of misplaced priorities, passions, pursuits, etc. Instead, like a heartsick lover pining over the absence of her one, true love, we inwardly groan to “know Him” (Phil. 3:10). . .see His Face. . .and hear His “still, small Voice” (I Kings 19:12) in the wee hours of the morning.
That’s why the Apostle John wrote, “Behold, what manner of Love the Father has bestowed upon us” (I Jn. 3:1a). Or, another way to ask it is “What kind of Love is this?”
Think of it, dear Pilgrim:
The precious Lord of Glory came all the way to this earth just to let us know that HE LOVES US. He willingly endured the physical hardships. . .mental and emotional abuse. . .anguish of heart and mind. . .even to the point of dying a most agonizing death on the Cross. . .just because HE LOVES US.
And, why would He do this?
Simply because He “delights in us” (Ps. 147:10-11; Is. 62:4).
Like a loving parent with a newborn child—tenderly counting his fingers and toes, running his fingers through his hair, quietly watching him sleep, etc.—so does the Heavenly Father long for us to know how much He loves us (Ps. 139:17-18). And, when we begin to “delight in Him” the same way, He will give us “the desires of our heart” because they’re rooted in “Who He is and what He’s promised to do” (Heb. 11:6; Lk. 11:5-13).
By Tom Smith Morning Manna Dated March 25, 2010
