DELIGHT YOURSELF IN THE LORD

Let’s continue our blog series from Psalm 37 with emphasis on finding personal peace.

We have never lived in more trying times when we have desired peace like we do today. It seems as if we meet two kinds of people today. There are those whose lives are in major turmoil bouncing though life like bumper cars at a carnival. And then there are those who are oblivious to what’s going on about them. That unmindful person may not even realize they lack peace until they encounter the first bump in life’s road. They have built up no reserve of strength to endure and get past the bump.

Psalm 37 reminds us that “delighting yourself in the Lord” is one of the building blocks for finding peace. Verse 4 says: “Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.”

To delight in the Lord is to desire being near the Lord and enjoying his presence. There are only two good ways to establish that nearness. First through Scripture where the Lord speaks his truth to us. Second, nearness is established through pray and worship. These are the basic building blocks for inward peace.

If we delight ourselves in the Lord, he promises to give us the desires of our lives. That does not mean if I want a Maserati sport’s car, I will get it! It does not work that way. The desires of our heart must be born out of the will of God. When we delight ourselves in the Lord, he will plant the desires of his heart within our very own hearts.

Those Godly planted desires are more likely to be fulfilled by the Lord assuming our personal wills are not getting in the way. When Godly planted desires are fulfilled we rejoice in the Lord. When unfulfilled, we do not collapse and lack peace because we trust the Lord’s timing.

Robert Parlante

June 2016