Redeemed Woman

Delight yourself in the Lord,
    and He will give you the desires of your heart.

Psalm 37:4 (ESV)

In my youth as a young believer, Psalm 37:4 was a life verse of mine. At the time, the application of this verse seemed pretty simple. “All the desires of my heart were promised to me if I would just delight in the LORD.” I mean, who wouldn’t love this verse?

By the grace of God, Psalm 37:4 has been illuminated by His Spirit of Truth to my understanding and heart over the years (John 15:26; John 17:17). The profundity of this simple text continues to sanctify the heart by death to sin and self. My prayer is that you, beloved sister in Christ, will find the Psalm 37:4 promise not only true, but truly yours. May the Spirit of Truth give you courage to ponder its meaning, and in it, bless you beyond measure.

delighting in the lord rids you of idols

The Israelites grew envious of their pagan neighbors’ prosperity and abundance (Psalm 37:1, 7, 16, 35). Perhaps, they wondered if adhering to God’s Law was vain as it seemed to profit them nothing (Psalm 37:12, 14, 16, 21, 32). Moreover, their joyful obedience turned into anger, dissatisfaction in the LORD, and sin as they perceived that the promised blessings of the Law were delayed (Deuteronomy 28:1-14; 1 Kings 2:1-4; Psalm 37:1, 7-8, 27). Their piety proved to be self-centered and idolatrous as evidenced by their envy and discontentment. Who was their trust (Psalm 37:3, 5)? Who was their way (Psalm 37:5, 23, 30-31, 34)? Who was their stronghold and refuge (Psalm 37:17, 24, 39-40)? Who was their provider (Psalm 37:4, 11, 19, 21, 25-26)? The Law of God became a mere means to the people’s own personal gains. King David, through inspiration of the Holy Spirit, reminded the people of God that their joy is found in their relationship with the Blesser and not in the blessings (Psalm 37:3-4, 22-23, 28, 33, 40).

delighting in the lord gives you His desires

The Israelites questioned why the wicked prospered while they, the people of God’s Law, struggled (Psalm 37:7). The root issue was the condition of their hearts. The Law of God was on their lips, but far from their hearts (Psalm 37:3, 27, 31, 34). Delighting in the LORD means that your heart finds joy in Who He is and what He loves. The ways of the wicked though they may lead to prosperity should not cause you to be envious and fretful because you delight in His ways. When you delight in the LORD, the desires in your heart will come from the LORD. “…He will give you the desires of your heart (Psalm 37:4b)”.

conclusion

I had mentioned in the beginning that this passage brings death to sin and self (Romans 8:13; Colossians 3:5). This is true if indeed the Spirit of God is speaking to us through it. For us to delight truly in the LORD means for us to echo the words of Paul in Philippians 3:7-8, “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my LORD.” Anything that we hold more dear than Jesus becomes an idol – be it our families or ministries. Our greatest satisfaction and delight come from knowing Jesus. And, our desires will be for His glory and not for ourselves.

Suppose all the success and blessings in your life were stripped away. All the comforts and security gone. Suppose you were sick on your death bed. Would envy, anger, and discontentment stir up in your heart? I am first to admit that I would find it hard to delight in the LORD then as I am quick to pout and complain about the little inconveniences of life even now. Delighting in the LORD and denying our desires are cliches that are easy to say and hard to do. We need the Spirit’s working in us and the Word living in us to be able to do it. We need to do honest self-reflections about our desires and repent if need be (1 John 1:9). Thanks be to Jesus, our Righteousness (Psalm 37:39).

What then can we say to our Christian sister who is barren and desires a child? What can we say to our Christian sister who longs to have a loving husband? What can we say to our Christian sister who desires for her prodigal child to return? What can we say to our Christian sister who desires desperately for physical healing? What do we do with our desires as Christian women? Do not let them become idols to stir in our hearts envy, anger, discontentment, and bitterness. Delight ourselves instead in the LORD and He will give us right desires (Psalm 37:4; Matthew 6:33; John 15:7; James 4:2-3). Trust in Him (Psalm 37:3, 5). Be still and wait for Him patiently (Psalm 37:7, 34).

Our Father and great God, help us to correctly understand Psalm 37:4 so that our hearts may be sanctified for Your glory. May Your Spirit bring us joy in our obedience to You that we may delight ourselves in You continuously even in our sufferings. Give us right desires. Open our eyes to Your ways and lift our burdens!