Delight and Desire of the Heart
By Marlys Roos
TODAY’S TREASURE
"Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart." - Psalm 37:4
I “discovered” and memorized Psalm 37:4 when fresh out of college, hoping God would provide for me a job or even a husband—the desires of my heart. I naïvely translated that verse to mean, “Enjoy doing things for God, and He will give you what you want.” So, I increased my activities at church and set the alarm earlier to read my Bible and pray. It was several years later as I transitioned to my fourth job and remained unmarried that my heart was opened to a more accurate interpretation based on the greatest commandment: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind (Matt. 22:37).
“To delight” means to take great pleasure or satisfaction in. I had to ask myself if my pleasure and satisfaction were in Christ or in other things. “To desire” means to want or long for. Did I want or long for Him above all else? To be honest, I still need to ask myself those questions, because too often I shift my focus from being Christ-centered to being me- or something-else-centered. As Paul David Tripp writes in New Morning Mercies, “Many people will get up today and, in some way, will ask creation to be their savior, that is, to give them what only God is able to give.”
Blaise Pascal, the 17th century mathematician and apologist, is often credited with explaining that our longing is due to the “God-shaped vacuum” in our hearts which only God, through Christ, can fill. We weren’t created to just sample God, to choose the parts we want or like, but to be filled with all the fullness of God (Eph. 3:19b).
He gives the desire that He may be the Fulfillment. Too often we let desire and what we think is fulfillment come between God and us as we seek satisfaction in something less than Him. Like our first parents, we aren’t satisfied to be His image-bearers and bring God glory but want what is His for ourselves: to set ourselves on His throne and seek our own way. But only His way leads us back to what was lost in the fall, perfect fellowship with our Father (John 14:6) and to sit with Him in heaven (Eph. 2:6).
So, why would He make a way for us to have this relationship with Him? Ephesians 2:4 gives us the answer: because of the great love with which He loved us. We are His desire and delight! He says so throughout Scripture. The Bible is His love story for us. As incomprehensible as it is that the perfect King would still love those who have played the harlot, He does and is even now preparing the wedding feast for His bride (Rev. 19). Isaiah prophesied that we shall be called My Delight Is in Her (Isa. 62:4) and that as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you (Isa. 62:5b).
His longing is greater than any man’s; His love is more complete than any heart’s. How can we answer but with the psalmist: Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever (Ps. 73:25-26).
LIFE-GIVING ENCOURAGEMENT
Even as I worked to finish writing this, I noticed the scripture readings for the devotionals I used today contained the words “delight” or “desire” numerous times. They were like love notes of encouragement from my Father. He is God Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth who loves His children so fiercely as to become one of us and take our punishment on the cross, and He is the gentle, loving Abba who smiles as He calls each of us by name. What a delight!
PRAYER
Abba God, so great and complete is Your love for us that You delight in us and desire we spend eternity with You; how can I ever desire more? Forgive me, Lord, when I have delighted and will delight in and desire anything less than You. Thank You for being faithful even when I am not. My hope and my joy rest in You alone. Amen.
More free resources for help, hope, & healing:
Treasures of Encouragement, Women Helping Women
By Sharon W. Betters
Treasuresofencouragement.org Learn how God sends treasures of encouragement to help turn hearts toward Jesus and how the beauty, privilege and power of biblical encouragement is a means to invite others to trust the Lord’s goodness and faithfulness in the mundane moments and especially in the broken places of life. Free supplemental resources.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Marlys Roos is publications coordinator for the PCA’s Committee on Discipleship Ministries. She, her husband, and son live in Atlanta and are members of Perimeter Church.
For more from Daily Treasure please visit MARKINC.ORG.
Originally published Thursday, 24 August 2023.
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