Delight

“Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart.”   Psalm 37:4

Delight – This word (anag) is used for a garment that is delicate or luxurious.  Here it means to feel great favor toward something.  This verse makes it clear that we do not delight in something God has done for us.  We are not thrilled simply because God has forgiven us or cared for us.  We are delighted in His person – in who He is.  Just like a fine piece of silk, the delight is not because of what can be done with the cloth, but because the cloth itself is so marvelous. The subject is desirable because it is attractive in and of itself.  This verse expresses great emotional joy about the subject.  There are uses of this word where God finds delight in the righteousness of men.  Discovering delight in God is what Jesus called the discovery of a priceless treasure in a field.  Once discovered, a man would do anything to obtain that field and make the treasure his own. 

We often feel as though the lives we lead are somber, guilt ridden, even tedious.  When we have turned away from the thrill seeking of our old habits, the world sometimes seems drab and lifeless.  But life in Christ is a replacement process.  In it we will find that God becomes a delight to us, that we can enjoy His company and His purposes, that our lives are lighter because we have trusted Him.  A most amazing transformation occurs when we begin to seek a relationship with God.  Our lives progress toward fulfillment.  Those secret spaces are no longer empty.  We experience the desires of our reborn hearts as real experiences of joy.  The time will come when we find ourselves happy just to belong to Him.  We will know contentment.

Today we can be delighted to be alive because God has a purpose for us.

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