thirsting for god

“Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.”1

What an absolutely wonderful verse that is. And if you’re like me, we really like the second half, don’t we? “He will give you the desires of your heart.”

Woop, woop!  Brand new Lexus, here I come! Uh, no. At least, probably no.

Why do I say that? Because the promise in the second half of the verse is conditional. In order for the Lord to give us “the desires of” our hearts, we have to “delight” ourselves “in the Lord.”

Ah, there’s the catch. You just knew it was too good to be true, right? We have to “delight” ourselves “in the Lord” and then we get the promise.

The key, of course, is understanding what delighting “in the Lord” means. For what it’s worth, here’s my take on it:

·         We have a reverential fear of our heavenly Father and are totally submitted to His will.

·         Our minute-by-minute goal is to please Him and bring Him glory.

·         We’re in love with Scripture and talk with Him regularly in prayer.

I could go on, but you get the idea. Getting the “desires of” our hearts isn’t as close as we thought it was, is it?

And think about this: If delighting “in the Lord” is even close to the description above, our minds are saturated with the Word of God and we’re totally sold out to serve and bring glory to Christ.

What’s my point? The desires of our hearts will actually be godly desires, desires that the Lord Himself has placed in our minds. After all, we’re focused on Him and live to do His will, not ours.

So…could it be God’s will that I get a brand new Lexus? I suppose it’s possible, but I kind of doubt it. While having an expensive luxury car might be critical in somehow contributing to the Lord’s kingdom here on earth, it’s much more likely that it’s a selfish desire that comes from my sinful mind and heart.

Thus, a verse that may initially appeal to our humanity is actually just the opposite. Instead of giving us a license to meet everything on our want list, it’s actually a call to be totally sold out to Lord.

So where does that leave us? If you’re disappointed, that’s understandable. Like you, I kind of like the thought of God being my divine genie. But can I be blunt? We have to fight the urge to pamper ourselves.

The reality is it’s not all about us. Instead, it’s all about the Lord. Because of that, let’s make an effort in delighting “in the Lord.” I know it might sound intimidating, but why not give it a shot?

For those of you who are game, here’s your first assignment. Read the verses below, meditate on them, memorize them, and then own them. If these verses are in your very soul, you’re on your way to delighting “in the Lord.”

“As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?”2

1  Psalm 37:4

2  Psalm 42:1-2