Delight
yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4.
What is delight? Delight is more than
being happy, for happiness disappears as the reason disappears, and another
emotion takes its place.
Delight is an underlying Joy that never goes away. Delight is a combination of
Hope, Love, and Faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Delight is an ‘at home’ feeling
of belonging and being loved.
As a child, I took delight in the stories my Dad told over and over. His
laughter continues to echo in my heart for the past forty years. He made the
stories of the Old Testament unforgettable after all these years.
Each time I relive the delight of being home with Mom
I remember reading what she wrote, every song I hear, and the tantalizing
aromas coming from the kitchen. I look into the face of a single flower and I
remember her giving heart.
Together, my parents taught me how loving Jesus is the Essence of Delight. Life
with my husband and four children taught me even more of the joy of everlasting,
and the tenderness, the reason for His Delight.
The first three words of the Fruit of the Spirit are Love, Joy, and Peace.
These are ours through a walk with Jesus in this life and lead to an eternal
abiding of Delight with our Lord.
The first verse I learned is, God is Love, in I John 4:8. Anyone who does not
love does not know God, because God is love. The commandments Jesus taught
give more reason to Love. And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord
your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your
mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is
like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two
commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 22:37-40.
The third Fruit of the Spirit is Peace. It is when I disobeyed my mother
and I felt her eyes on me, I knew, she knew. There was no peace. It is when we
follow the two commandments of love; we know the peace Jesus brings. He knows
and sees our hearts. Jesus died on the cross to give us forgiveness. This
forgiveness is called Grace, a free gift. Another favorite verse is from
John 14:27. Peace, I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the
world gives, do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled,
neither let them be afraid.
It was 1947, Mom taught the small church choir this song by Austria Wihtol: My
God and I go in the fields together, We walk and talk as good friend
should and do; We clasp our hands, our voices ring with laughter, My God and I
walk through the meadows hue; We clasp our hands; our voices ring with
laughter; My God and I walk through the meadows’ hue.
These lyrics continue to come to my heart when I think of the Presence of
Jesus. Walking together, face to face, with hands clasped, what Delight
it is to have Jesus as my Friend. What is the underlying joy of our
lives? It is the love of Jesus.
Delight goes both ways. God delights in
us and we delight in the Lord.
How
can we not find joy daily in the delights God has given us?
Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor
stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat
of scoffers, but his delight is in the
law of the Lord, and on his law, he meditates day and night.
Psalm 1:1-2.
Let those who delight in my righteousness shout for joy and be glad and
say evermore, “Great is the Lord, who delights in the welfare of his
servant!” Psalm 35:27.
The steps of a man are established by the Lord when he
delights in his way; though he falls, he shall not be
cast headlong, for the Lord upholds his hand. Psalm
37:23-24.
Then I said, “Behold, I have come; in the scroll of the book it is
written of me: I delight to do your will, O my
God; your law is within my heart.” Psalm 40:7-8.
Besides being wise, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge,
weighing and studying and arranging many proverbs with great care.
The Preacher sought to find
words of delight, and uprightly he wrote words of truth. Ecclesiastes
12:9-10.
Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man
boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the
rich man boast in his riches, but let him who
boasts boast in this, that He understands and knows me, that I am
the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in
the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.”
Jeremiah 9:23-24.
Other scriptures are some of my favorites and give a view into the Delight God
gives us in this life and more in the next.
May
the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by
the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. Romans 15:13.
Oh, taste
and see that the Lord is
good! Blessed is the man who takes
refuge in him! Psalm 34:8.
For
I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things
present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything
else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in
Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39.
The
steadfast love of the Lord never
ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentation 3:22-23.
See what
kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children
of God, and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is
that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we
will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when He appears, we
shall be like Him because we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who thus hopes in Him purifies Himself
as He is pure. I John 3:1-3.
For you
are great and do wondrous things; you alone are
God. Teach me your way, O Lord, that
I may walk in your truth; unite my heart
to fear your name.
Psalm 86:10-11.
