Take Delight in the Lord

“Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart” Psalm 37:4

Here is a verse that has been playing on my mind lately. I recently had a big opportunity that I wanted more than anything I’ve ever wanted in my whole life. It was an internship at a major company in their headquarters in Europe. I wanted it desperately. This opportunity was the desire of my heart. God surely placed it there, and God was surely responsible for the opportunity arising in the first place. Right??

While waiting to hear if I had been accepted for this exciting opportunity, I kept having conflicting thoughts…

Thought 1 - “Whether I get it or not, may God’s will be done.”

Thought 2 - “But I will get it, because God gives us the desires of our heart.”

I constantly went back and forth between the above thoughts. I wanted to be content with God’s plan for my life even if I didn’t get it, but I wanted to convince myself that because I desired it so much, that God would surely grant it to me.

Weeks past and the desire grew stronger…and... I eventually discovered that I did not get accepted for the internship I so dearly wanted.

It was only then that I realized the significance of the first part of the above psalm - “Take delight in the Lord”. I realized that it is essential to take delight in the Lord first - including His will for our life - and then He will give us the desires of our heart that are in line with His will.

I also realized, in my opinion at least, that this scripture refers more to the big picture of our lives. To me, this scripture means that if we devote our lives to glorifying God, He will ensure that our lives go according to His plan. There may be many paths along the way that we don’t expect or understand, but we will get the desires of our heart eventually if we persistently take delight in Him, even and especially in the face of disappointments.

So remember, in the face of major achievement *and* in major disappointment -

Take delight in the Lord, and He will give us the desires of our heart.

Peace amigos!

Jordz