“Delight thyself also in the LORD: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.” – Psalm 37:4
Everyone wants to enjoy life and those who don’t generally have an excuse. Most of the time they blame others or circumstances for their misery, but our text places the responsibility squarely on our shoulders — “Delight ‘yourself‘ in the Lord”. We can’t control or change our circumstances, but we can control our response to them. As Christian we can always “rejoice in the Lord” (Phil. 4:4).
Adrian Rogers said, “This verse doesn’t mean you’ll have every whim and fancy met—that you can have an island paradise somewhere, a pink Cadillac, or a handful of diamonds. It means when you delight yourself in the Lord, what your heart has really been seeking for, it will find. What your heart really yearns for is God. Only Jesus can meet the deepest needs of your heart.
Do you know why so often we live in fear? Because we think our needs are not going to be met. Or because we think the things we believe are meeting our needs are going to be taken away from us. This verse tells us God will never leave us nor forsake us, and godliness with contentment is great gain. We have something that can’t be tampered with.
Suppose someone were to go into your house and carry out all your material possessions. Could you still praise the Lord? If your delight is in the Lord, you could!”
