The word 'delight' here can be defined as 'to find great pleasure, to be glad, to be pleased with, to enjoy'. And the opposites (antonyms) of 'delight' are 'to have displeasure, to dislike, to loathe, to be disgusted, to be displeased, to be dismayed (to be distressed)'.
Notice it's not just delighting in the Lord, but delighting yourself in the Lord! In other words, not only should you delight in the Lord, but you are also to delight yourself in the Lord!
To delight yourself in the Lord is to learn to be happy with yourself, be easy on yourself (instead of being too hard on yourself), love yourself, laugh at yourself (we all make mistakes in life at one time or another!) and give thanks to the Lord for who you are! Remember you are precious and wonderful in the eyes of the Lord, and there will never be another you! This is a very important time to begin thanking the Lord for giving you, you!
The key chapters to read in this time and season are Psalm 131, Psalm 37, and Psalm 34, all written by the psalmist David. All these chapters point towards the same theme mentioned above.
Psalm 131 speaks of a beloved of God who has simple trust in the Lord, and whose soul is calmed and quieted (like a weaned child with his mother).
Psalm 37 speaks of a beloved of God who learns to rest in the Lord and delight himself in the Lord, knowing that He is the One who causes him to inherit all the good of the land he dwells in.
Psalm 34 speaks of a beloved of God who learns to bless (speak well of) the Lord at all times and in all circumstances, knowing that those who look to Him and seek Him shall not lack any good thing.
As a believer in the New Covenant, know that Jesus has suffered every form of distress on the cross, so you can now delight in all that the Lord has given you! In fact, at the very beginning when God created Adam and Eve, they were created to delight! That was the Lord's original plan for them! Genesis 2:8 says, 'The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed'. Genesis 2:15 says, 'Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it'. By the way, the word 'Eden' ('ayden' or 'aydnah') in Hebrew means 'delight, pleasure'! God had meant to put mankind in the garden of delight! To tend it, and not to toil in it! To keep it, and not to blow it (or lose it)!
Let's go to John 10:10-11 now, and see what Jesus Himself says, "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep." The word 'abundantly' here is 'perissos' in Greek, and it can mean 'superabundant, exceedingly abundantly above, beyond measure, excellent (in quality)'.
In New Living Translation (NLT), John 10:10 is translated this way: "The thief's purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life."
In The Voice (Thomas Nelson, 2012), John 10:10 is translated this way: "The thief approaches with malicious intent, looking to steal, slaughter, and destroy: I came to give life with joy and abundance."
To put it simply, John 10:10 says that Jesus came to give you life to enjoy and to delight in!
No, I'm not talking about indulgence in the flesh (or in sins) here. Sins will always lead to sorrows. The Bible promises that 'The blessing of the Lord... adds no sorrow with it' (Proverbs 10:22). I'm talking about enjoying the Lord and enjoying all the good things He has given you to enjoy here on earth! Take time to breathe the fresh air in the great outdoors, smell the flowers in the garden, and behold the beauty of nature (and all of His creations). Take time to 'pamper' yourself doing something you have always loved to do (or enjoy doing), but never had the time due to the 'busy-ness' and the hustle and bustle of life.
We are living in this fallen world that thrives on competition and comparison. It's a dog-eat-dog world that is ruthlessly competitive, where everyone is looking out for his/her own interests. But do you know the kingdom of God works very differently? David (whose name means 'beloved of God') understood this, and this is what he wrote in Psalm 131:1-2, 'Lord, my heart is not haughty, nor my eyes lofty (with fleshly ambitions), neither do I concern myself with great matters, nor with things too profound for me. Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned (satisfied, contented) child with his mother; Like a weaned child is my soul within me'.
Having fleshly ambitions alone will not lead one to where God wants him/her to be. Many people in this world have high and lofty ambitions, but they ended up nowhere (except further heartbreaks and sorrows). On the contrary, David had learned to delight himself in the Lord and wait patiently on the Lord. And you know what? The Lord raised him up in ways unsurpassed by all the kings before or after him! Not even the jealous Saul or the ambitious Absalom could take away what the Lord had in store for him! Indeed, we have a lot to learn from David, a man after God's heart.
So, what is the secret to having the desires of your heart coming true?
No, I'm not talking about indulgence in the flesh (or in sins) here. Sins will always lead to sorrows. The Bible promises that 'The blessing of the Lord... adds no sorrow with it' (Proverbs 10:22). I'm talking about enjoying the Lord and enjoying all the good things He has given you to enjoy here on earth! Take time to breathe the fresh air in the great outdoors, smell the flowers in the garden, and behold the beauty of nature (and all of His creations). Take time to 'pamper' yourself doing something you have always loved to do (or enjoy doing), but never had the time due to the 'busy-ness' and the hustle and bustle of life.
We are living in this fallen world that thrives on competition and comparison. It's a dog-eat-dog world that is ruthlessly competitive, where everyone is looking out for his/her own interests. But do you know the kingdom of God works very differently? David (whose name means 'beloved of God') understood this, and this is what he wrote in Psalm 131:1-2, 'Lord, my heart is not haughty, nor my eyes lofty (with fleshly ambitions), neither do I concern myself with great matters, nor with things too profound for me. Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned (satisfied, contented) child with his mother; Like a weaned child is my soul within me'.
Having fleshly ambitions alone will not lead one to where God wants him/her to be. Many people in this world have high and lofty ambitions, but they ended up nowhere (except further heartbreaks and sorrows). On the contrary, David had learned to delight himself in the Lord and wait patiently on the Lord. And you know what? The Lord raised him up in ways unsurpassed by all the kings before or after him! Not even the jealous Saul or the ambitious Absalom could take away what the Lord had in store for him! Indeed, we have a lot to learn from David, a man after God's heart.
So, what is the secret to having the desires of your heart coming true?
Let's go back to Psalm 37:4 now. The secret to having the desires of your heart coming true is by learning to delight yourself in the Lord. The word 'delight' here is 'anag' in Hebrew, meaning 'to be soft or meek (before the Lord), to be pliable (easily bent/shaped by the Lord)'. When your heart is aligned with His heart, your desires will also be aligned with His desires. And that's when good things begin to happen in your life, just as had happened in David's life! (Psalm 34:8)
Psalm 37:11 then says, 'But the meek (before the Lord) shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace (shalom)'. In other words, 'the meek (before the Lord) shall enjoy the abundance of shalom (i.e. happiness, welfare, wellness, wholeness, health, prosperity, favor, safety) here on earth'!
Interestingly, this word 'meek' here shares the same root word as 'delight' ('anag') in Hebrew! That is to say those who delight in the Lord shall inherit every good thing that the Lord wants to give them on earth! Hallelujah!
And that, my friend, in cross-reference, explains what Jesus meant when He said in the Beatitudes, "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth"! (Matthew 5:5) Indeed, blessed are those who 'delight' in the Lord, for they shall inherit every good thing that the Lord wants to give them, here on earth! Amen!
Interestingly, this word 'meek' here shares the same root word as 'delight' ('anag') in Hebrew! That is to say those who delight in the Lord shall inherit every good thing that the Lord wants to give them on earth! Hallelujah!
And that, my friend, in cross-reference, explains what Jesus meant when He said in the Beatitudes, "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth"! (Matthew 5:5) Indeed, blessed are those who 'delight' in the Lord, for they shall inherit every good thing that the Lord wants to give them, here on earth! Amen!
