VERSE OF THE DAY
Psalm 37:4 (New Living Translation)
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Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires.
Take Pride in the joy of the Lord and honor in your faith in honor in him and he shall give you the desires of your heart ❤️
Psalm 37:4: Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
What does it mean to delight yourself in the Lord (Psalm 37:4)?
ANSWER
Psalm 37:4 says, “Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Taking delight in the Lord means that our hearts truly find peace and fulfillment in Him. If we truly find satisfaction and worth in Christ, Scripture says He will give us the longings of our hearts. Does that mean, if we go to church every Sunday, God will give us a new Rolls Royce? No. The idea behind this verse and others like it is that, when we truly rejoice or “delight” in the eternal things of God, our desires will begin to parallel His and we will never go unfulfilled. Matthew 6:33 says, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things [the necessities of life] will be given to you as well.”
Many delight in wealth, status, material possessions, and other temporary things of this world, but they are never satisfied. They never truly get what they want, hence the reason they are always wanting more. This is the lesson King Solomon learned in his pursuit of earthly treasure: “Everything is meaningless!” (Ecclesiastes 1:2). On the other hand, delighting in the Lord is true treasure indeed: “Godliness with contentment is great gain” (1 Timothy 6:6).
First John 2:15–17 says, “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.” We will never be deeply fulfilled or “happy” with the things this world has to offer. If we place our joy and hope in God first, He will meet all of our needs. He will even grant our wants, as our hearts’ desires begin to match up with His will. If we truly place priority on the Lord, chances are our heart’s greatest desire will not be a brand-new Rolls Royce, but eternal treasures in Christ.
This world can never satisfy our deepest longings, but if we choose to delight in God’s way, He will always provide above and beyond our expectations. Jesus said, “Whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:14).
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Praying: Finding Our Way Through Duty to Delight by Packer & Nystrom
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What does it mean to delight yourself in the Lord (Psalm 37:4)?
What Does Psalm 37:3 Mean? ►
Trust in the LORD and do good. Dwell in the land and feed on faithfulness.
Psalm 37:3(ISV)
Verse Thoughts
Have you noticed how often the Word of God calls us to trust in the Lord, to believe what He says in Scripture – to have faith in Him and in all that He says? He knows that trusting in the Lord is the only secure place we have in a world that lies in the evil one.
He knows that if we acknowledge Him in all our ways and trust Him in all the ups and downs of life, He will direct our goings out and our comings in and He will govern our lives in a way that is best for us, and those around us.
We are to trust Him in the temporal as well as the spiritual, to trust Him for things of the body as well as the soul; to trust Him in time and into eternity; to trust Him in all the ages and stages of our lives; to trust Him in the insignificant menial tasks of the day as well the grander decisions that face us in life, and to trust Him in every aspect of His great plan of salvation – for He knows the plans He has for us, but He wants us to trust in Him, to believe His word, to have faith in Him – even when we don’t understand.
Have you noticed how often that we are called upon to do good, to love mercy, to forgive and consider others as better than ourselves – to follow His paths and listen to His guidance? There is none good, no not one and the only good that we can perform is when we are in Christ – when we are in union with Christ through faith in Him and when we live and move and have our being in submission to the Spirit, and when we are in sweet communion with the Father. All good flows from the Lord and the only good of which we are capable is that which is done in His power and strength – and God has prepared all these good works in advance for us to do – but remember that all that we do should be to His praise and His glory.
It is through faith in the Lord and submission to the Spirit that we can feed on His Word by faith with thanksgiving; be nourished with the gospel of His great salvation and rest in His love. And we are to do this in the knowledge that He is with us in the insignificant menial tasks of the day as well as being our guide in the grander decisions of life that face us.
No matter what happens in life, our times are in His hands and we are called-on to trust all into His hands – for this is good and honouring to Him. We are to do the good things that He has prepared for us to do in His strength and power, knowing that He is
Source: https://dailyverse.knowing-jesus.com/psalm-37-3
What does Psalm 37:4 mean?
This verse is easily misapplied, as are many such references to the promises of God. To “delight in the Lord” is to enjoy all the blessings found in Him, because they are from Him, not merely because they are to our benefit. It’s often said that the person who delights in the Lord values the Giver more highly than His gifts. The Hebrew word translated as “delight” here is from a root word that implies pleasure and enjoyment.
In context with the surrounding verses (Psalm 37:3, 5), this clearly refers to those whose desires are in harmony with those of God. A person who “delights in the Lord” has righteous desires. He will not desire anything that springs from selfish desires. No one can expect God to give something contrary to God’s will, or the Lord’s glory. So far as our wills are attuned to the will of God (John 14:15), our requests will be granted (John 14:14; Matthew 6:33). This idea is expressed often in the Psalms (Psalm 21:2; 145:19).
Some commentators suggest this statement could be interpreted to mean the Lord will place into our hearts those desires which are godly. In other words, when we delight in God, He makes us want what He wants (Romans 12:2; Galatians 5:16–24).
Psalm 16:11 assures us that in God’s presence there is fullness of joy, and pleasures that last forever are at His right hand. A truly joyful life, one which extends through eternity, is based on our delighting ourselves in the Lord. The book of Ecclesiastes traces Solomon’s search for happiness and meaning in a variety of things, but his search led only to emptiness until he found happiness and meaning in a personal relationship with God. At the end of the book he counsels his readers: “Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, ‘I have no pleasure in them'” (Ecclesiastes 12:1).
Context Summary
Psalm 37:1–11 encourages David’s audience to maintain a proper relationship with God by refusing to wallow in anxiety over their circumstances. Instead, they ought to trust in the Lord, find their joy in the Lord, and commit their future to the Lord. The tone of this passage resembles Proverbs chapter two, which explains the benefits of following godly wisdom. Matthew 5:5 holds a promise that parallels verses 9 and 11 of this psalm.
Chapter Summary
In this psalm, David contrasts the way God protects and saves His people, contrasted with the ruin which awaits the wicked. Much of this seems to be based on David’s own experiences (Psalm 37:25, 35). As with many other passages in Psalms and Proverbs, this passage encourages godly wisdom. Those who reject God and His ways can expect uncertainty on earth and disaster in eternity
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