What are your deepest desires or longings? Have you ever voiced them aloud? Do some of them seem too far fetched to be realized? Have you told God about your deepest longings? Did you ever consider that He may have given you some of those longings or desires and even wants to fulfill them?
Take delight in the Lord,
and He will give you the desires of your heart.
(Psalm 37:4 NIV)
What does it mean to delight in the Lord?” The word delight at once makes me think of happiness or pleasure. I looked up the definition at RhymeZone and as a verb there are two meanings given. The first is give pleasure to or be pleasing to. That pretty much lines up
with my initial thought.
The second definition is what jumped out at me. It can also mean hold spellbound. Mesmerized, fascinated, enthralled, awestruck, captivated and speechless are some of the many synonyms of spellbound. Thinking about all those words I wonder if I really know how to delight in the Lord.
HOW DO I DELIGHT IN THE LORD?
Often when I step outside, the beauty of creation awes me. It’s fascinating to learn about the way birds seem to know where to go and when to make their migrations. I am enthralled when I see an evening thunderstorm as the lightning flashes making jagged lines across the sky.
Could these be ways to delight in the Lord? I think so, but I also know that as I spend time in His word and prayer, I feel closer to God. He gives me peace when there is distress in my life. He has provided for our family over the years in so many ways. All of this does help me take pleasure in the Lord.
What about when I get weary of the problems of life, not just in mine but all over the world? One thing I desire is to see peace among all peoples, beginning right here in our own country, in our own families. At times it seems overwhelming and all I can do is go to God in a prayer of lament asking questions like, Why? and How long must we wait?
Then I remember all the good God has done and is doing in my life.
Peace returns, and I realize that He is still in control. Because of this, I can continue to delight in Him. He will give me strength and grace for the rest of this journey called life. Some of my desires will be realized and some will not, but I believe as it says in Psalm 103:5 that He will meet my desire with good things.
(Psalm 103:1-5)
Praise the Lord, my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the Lord, my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
I’m linking up with: #GiveMeGrace, #Glimpses, #SmallWonder, #IntentionalTuesday, #RaRaLinkup, #TestimonyTuesday, #TellHisStory, #SittingAmongFriends, #CoffeeforYourHeart, #MomentsofHope, #SHINEbloghop, #ThoughtProvokingThursday
HI Gayl, Psalm 37:4 is my verse for 2016 coupled with Psalm 27:4 which says “One thing have I asked of the Lord,
that will I seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord
and to inquire[a] in his temple.” So the desires of my heart include knowing Him more. I loved all the ways you shared how you/we can delight in the Lord. I too delight in HIm through creation all around me. Powerful. So happy to meet you here.
Amy, thanks so much for visiting today! It’s nice to meet you here. Thanks for sharing the verse and your thoughts. Yes, I also desire to know Him more.
Thank you for your encouraging words. Many blessings to you!
Being in the presence of the Lord is sure a delight. He always seems to lighten the load and lift my burdens. I love hearing the peacefulness of the birds chirping and seeing the beauty in His creation. It always settles my soul and gives me perspective of how big He is compared to the problems I have.
Thank you so much, Valerie, for your encouraging comments! There have been times when I’ve been so discouraged, but after spending time in His word and in prayer my attitude always changes. He give me peace and I know He is with me.
Blessings to you!
Thanks for this reminder of His peace. There are many times I become overwhelmed by the schedule and duties of the day when what I need is to step back, breathe and relax in knowing He’s got this and we can rest in Him. (stopping by from #TestimonyTuesday)
Thanks for stopping by, Rachel. I think we all get overwhelmed at times and forget to stop, breathe and relax. Yes, God has got this! Blessings to you!
Loved this, Gayl! Thank You!!!
Thanks, Tara! Glad you enjoyed it. Blessings to you!
To be spellbound…I love that definition, Gayl. It adds to the word “delight” with a whole new dimension. I just read this verse with a 5th grader as we were working together this very morning in his homeschool Bible studying. We spoek of the word delight and what it meant. I will have to share this with him next week. Praising the Lord with you.
I love that definition, too, LInda! I thought is was so cool when I found it. Thanks so much for stopping by and for your encouragement. Blessings to you!
Hello!
I hope your weekend was good! I loved all the scripture in this. The power of His word is always so uplifting and encouraging. I also love Psalm 37. It is one of my favorite psalms. It is curious though how the previous verse could also answer your question. When we feed on His faithfulness that too can bring us to delighting HIm. love this. visiting from #tellhisstory
Hi Kristina!
Yes, I had a good but busy weekend. Thank you so much for your encouraging comments! Really, Psalm 37 gives us so much to be thankful for, doesn’t it?
Always glad to have you visit the blog, Kristina. Many blessings to you!
Your posts are always like poetry…love you Gayl. See you on the 17th?
Thank you, Susan. What a compliment! Love you, too. Yes, most definitely I plan to be there on the 17th. It will be so much fun to spend time with other like minded friends.
Many blessings to you dear sister! xo
Absolutely beautiful!
Karrilee, thank you so much! Many blessings to you!
Delighting in Him every day. I, too pray for and ask for peace in our World and for some heart changing in America. He does grant us the desires of our hearts as I see Him doing that right now in our family – so, so many prayers for babies and future generations, and He’s being faithful and showing us His grace.
Debbie, thanks so much for stopping by and sharing your thoughts! Yes, God is faithful even through the difficult times. Over and over He has proved His love and faithfulness to me and my family.
Blessings to you!
Such beautiful and inspiring thoughts you share Gail. There is nothing more comforting than time spent with God. I long to delight in His will for my life. Like the song says…” Let it be pleasing Lord to thee…” Psalm 37:4 is one of my favorite verses. There is so much goodness in this post Gayle. I will definitely be sharing. Have a wonderful weekend and may God bless you and yours!
Thank you, Horace! I’m glad you stopped by. You are right that nothing is more comforting than spending time with God. Are you referring to the song “My Tribute”? I believe the line you quoted is from that. It’s a beautiful song.
Thank you so much for your comments and for sharing. Blessings to you dear brother!
Oh, Gayl, that Haiku brings together so many rich Biblical images!
Thank you, Michele, for visiting today! I like putting Bible verses on photos, but the only one you can use without permission is the KJV. I like it but sometimes I like others. Anyway, my daughter suggested I just paraphrase a verse and then no permission is needed. So I wrote a haiku!
Blessings to you!
Encouraging and inspiring words today, friend! May God bless you as you seek Him!
Thank you, June. Many blessings to you dear sister! So glad you stopped by today!
Psalm 103 is one I needed to read tonight as I have been very concerned about the health of my eldest. Claiming these words of Truth right now! Thanks, Gayl, for sharing this hope at #MomentsofHope! You are a blessing!
Psalm 103 is one of my favorite psalms. I’m glad you were encouraged. I pray that God would grant strength and healing and comfort to your family, esp. your eldest. May you know His presence with you moment by moment! Blessings!
Thanks you for this post ? Great read to end the day. #SHINEbloghop
Thanks for stopping by. I’m glad you enjoyed it. Blessings to you, Kim!