Apr 4 - Psalm 37:4

Take delight in the Lord,

and he will give you

the desires of your heart.

Psalm 37:4

This passage is absolutely true.

But it can very easily be misused.

There are several ways in which such passages are misused …

Is this a guarantee? Yes and no. If those who take delight in the Lord expect that God will give them the desires of their heart TODAY, then they may get frustrated and lose faith. God does promise to give you the desires of your heart … but for the no more mourning or crying or pain, you may have to wait until heaven to get it.

So timing is the issue. It is a guarantee, but our deep desires may or may not be here and now.

There’s also a deceptive “name it and claim it” belief. There’s some psychological truth in the benefits of a positive outlook. If you delight in God and delight in your surroundings, you’re going to be happier and you’re more likely to perceive that the desires of your heart are being fulfilled. Psychologically, delight and desires go hand-in-hand.

But “name it and claim it” sometimes implies that God is genie. That faith almost obligates God to give you blessings.

So what should we conclude?

•      God wants to bless you! And he wants to do it here and now … and into eternity!
•      God, however, is not a genie, obligated to grant your wishes and desires. Nevertheless, faith can still have a powerful transformative effect.
•      With faith, you can find tremendous blessings – hope, comfort, courage, etc. – even when your outward situations are depressing.
•      “Delighting in the Lord” is a powerful definition of faith. (But … it’s not the only definition. Clinging to God, the rock, in the midst of life’s storms is also a powerful definition of faith. Either way …) Faith guarantees eternal blessings. Faith also transforms our daily too. How?
•      Faith and delight transform the way we look at this world in wonderful and positive ways. We don’t always need to be dour Christians to be pious. Putting on faith, hope, light, and joy can like putting on 3D glasses. With God, the world has new richness, texture, and delight.

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who’s going to strive

to take even more delight

in today