“[4] Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires. Psalms 37:4 NLT

“Take delight” means to find great pleasure, enjoyment, or satisfaction in something or someone. Another definition is to experience a high level of pleasure, satisfaction, or joy.

Using that definition, we could also say “be satisfied in the Lord,” or “find your joy in the Lord,” and He will give you the desires of your heart.

When we take delight in the Lord, it won’t necessarily look the same for everyone. Some of us will delight in singing to Him. Some of us will find delight in Him through studying and learning the Bible. Others may find that satisfaction in serving others or giving.

Now that we understand the beginning, let’s think about the part where “He gives us the desires of our heart.” Does that mean if we get saved and start delighting in the Lord, He will give us all the money or material things we want? Absolutely not. The point of this verse is that when we truly take pleasure in the things of God, our desires will begin to change and come into alignment with His, and then we will be genuinely satisfied. It won’t be a superficial or temporary satisfaction that comes from this world, but a true contentment and fulfillment that only comes from a life in Christ. We can have peace that passes all our human understanding, and no amount of money or possessions could ever replace that.

One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Matthew 6:33. It says, “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” He’s talking about ALL that we need—physically, emotionally, spiritually, and financially. It’s easy sometimes to seek those physical things first and just kind of fit God in wherever we have time, but He’s wanting us to reverse it and start seeking after Him first. When we try to add things to our lives on our own, we’re limited by the hours in the day and by our own strength. Leaving it to Him works best. He is big enough to take care of everything else when we keep Him first!

Maybe you’ve been living life your own way and might feel overwhelmed by what you think it looks like to follow Christ. So often, people complicate it when Jesus made it simple. Let’s take a look at what Jesus said.

[35] One of them, an expert in religious law, tried to trap him with this question: [36] “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?” [37] Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ [38] This is the first and greatest commandment. [39] A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ [40] The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:35-40 NLT

That’s it. Keep it simple. Strive to love God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. I promise that will keep you busy! An equally important and probably way harder part of thay verse is to love your neighbor as yourself. Don’t get caught up in all the extra details. Start there. Fall in love with Jesus. Get to know who He is. Get to know who he says you are in His word. I pray this word is confirmation and encouragement. Love God and love people. ❤️

[13] For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him. Philippians 2:13 NLT