The Bible is such an encouragement. I love Psalm 139, especially verses 1-5. Another favorite verse is Psalm 37:4, which says ‘Delight yourself in the Lord;And He will give you the desires of your heart.’.This verse is often misunderstood.
There can be a tendency to assume this verse means that whatever we ask of God, He is obligated to give us. However closer investigation reveals this to be a long way from the truth.
Just as many bible verses do, this promise has a condition attached. To discover the real meaning, we need firstly to concentrate on the first part – the condition of the verse. The condition is ‘delight yourself in the Lord.’ Think about when you fell in love. Didn’t you want to spend time with that loved one? I did. I still do with my darling husband. One of the delights of him being retired is we are able to spend more time together.
When you’re in love or delighting on another person you want to spend time with them. Your thoughts, your plans, your dreams, centre around that person. Above all you want to make them happy and please them, so you seek to do those things that will make them happy.
It follows then that if you or I delight in the Lord, we will firstly want to spend time in God’s presence, getting to know Him better. We will want to read His Word and learn more of His ways, will want to please God and do those things that will make Him happy. It follows that if this is your aim, then your heart’s desires and prayers will not be self serving but will be in accord with God’s will. Therefore God is able to grant the desires of your heart since it is in tune with God’s own.
Listen to a violin that it out of tune. It grates on the ears. But a violin in tune and played by an accomplished musician, is a beautiful instrument. If you delight in the Lord, you are like the perfectly tuned and played violin. Because you delight in Him and give glory to God he will give you the desires of your heart.
I’m going to choose to delight in Him today and every day. What about you?
Bible verses from The New American Standard Version
Unlocking a Bible Passage -Part 1