Day 6: The Delight

“DELIGHT thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give
thee the desires of thine heart.” Psalm 37:4

Do you remember from several years ago when I did a 31 day mini-devotional series on “The Deadly D’s?” Well, I could not leave you in the deep doldrums of despair forever, so I ended up writing a 31 day mini-devotional series on “The    Dynamic D’s.” Ahh, such a more up-lifting series!

When you hear the word delight, what is the first thing that pops into your mind? Be honest! Shall I be honest too? Chocolate DELIGHT! Can you tell that I love chocolate (the real kind … not the fake dollar store kind)? I also love baking and I love desserts. So, if I had to choose a favorite dessert, it would be this one!

What I am actually looking for here are answers that define the word delight. To delight in something is to be greatly pleased with or satisfied in. As a verb, it brings excitement and even captivates. As a noun, we see joy and happiness. Now there is a word that we need to study one day soon … happiness. Social media is over-flowing with quotes and writings on making yourself happy. YOU deserve happiness … so the world likes to tell us.

Did you notice, in our verse, the word that follows delight? It says to “delight THYSELF.” If only this verse stopped right there then we all would be happy, right? Why is self happiness such a scarcity today? Why do we see plastered all over social media encouragement to make yourself happy? Do you find it hard to make yourself happy? Personally, I find it pretty easy. Why? Because I know what pleases me and my sinful flesh LOVES to bring delight to self.

But, David did not stop there. No, David, kept going. I believe that David had already learned first hand about bringing delight to his sinful flesh, did he not? He had already been down that road and learned the hard way that bringing delight to ones flesh is very short lived … and carries many consequences. Moses also learned that the pleasures of sin only lasted for a season (Hebrews 11:25).

I believe that David clarified himself here, not only as a reminder to himself, but as a testimony and warning to others who followed behind him.  For he did not stop with only two words, but went on to say in whom we are ultimately to bring delight to … and that was to our LORD. Do you remember Him? Your Yahweh. Your mighty One.

As we close for today, I wanted to bring out one more thought that has stuck in my mind regarding this phrase. David is telling us to bring delight to ourselves … through bringing delight to our LORD (this is the key). This should not be a hard task for those of us who are saved. Why is this? Because we should already know what pleases our LORD. Am I not correct? As a Christian, we should already be spending time with our LORD in prayer, in church, in Bible reading, and in studying of His Word. How else can we know what brings delight to Him? There is no other way!

If you find yourself struggling with delight (joy and happiness) in your life, my friend, maybe it is time to take David’s advice and start delighting and bringing delight to our LORD! It is not too late! Start today!