In my last blog, I shared about my New Year’s resolution to seek the joy that can be found in the Lord’s presence, listening to His voice to confirm His will for my days—Not in looking for happiness in the circumstances around me. In other words, my goal is to embrace the advice in Psalm 37:4, “Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.”
At first glance, it looks like if I seek to find my happiness in the Lord, then He will grant me what I desire. But when I examined this verse in the original language, a fascinating insight opened up.
In the Old Testament there are several definitions for the word delight in the Hebrew language. Most of the time this word means “pleasure or to be pleased with.” But in Psalm 37, the Hebrew word for delight means to be “soft and pliable.” This tells me that when I delight in the Lord, I allow myself to be molded and shaped by His plan for me.
This shines a whole new light on this verse. Instead of a transactional relationship with God—"Okay, Lord, I am praying every day and going to church when I can make it, so now give me what I want. My aspirations don’t break the bank or hurt anyone, so I’m waiting for You to come through.”
Instead of telling God what I want Him to do for me, I am now asking Him what He wants to do in me. That’s next level change. But it’s also next-level closeness to my Savior and Redeemer.
When I surrender my will to Christ’s, He offers up salvation, satisfaction, purpose, and fulfillment, the true desires of my heart. When I trust in His will for me, I let Him change my desires to be what He has in mind. That always ends up being what’s best for me anyway. And what’s best for me is actually the true desire of my heart when it all sifts out.