Psalm 37:4 instructs us to “take delight in the Lord, and He will give you your heart’s desires.” Surely this verse is not teaching us that if we claim to delight in God, He will give us anything we desire in this world, as in: “God, I love You, so I am ready for the new car and an upgrade in my athletic ability.” Instead, the Lord is teaching us that when we delight in Him, our hearts’ desires are fully met. When we delight in Him, we learn that He is enough.
We all delight in something, and if we delight in something other than God, that thing will not fill the desires of our hearts.
If one delights in money, the desires of his heart will not be met. He will only want more. Someone once asked John Rockefeller, the richest man alive in his day, “How much money is enough?” He said, “Just a little bit more.”
If one delights in a substance, the desires of her heart will not be met. She will need more and more to reach the high she once experienced. What once brought a level of escape doesn’t any longer as a tolerance for the substance is developed.
The promotion, the new possession, the new opportunity won’t satisfy the heart either. After the initial excitement wanes, another promotion, another possession, or another opportunity is quickly on the horizon.
God is the only One who can fill the desires of our hearts. Thus, we are foolish to delight in anything above Him. We will never have enough unless God is what we delight in.
Jonathan Edwards wrote that delighting in God is deeper than merely having a belief in God. He said:
There is a difference between having an opinion that God is holy and gracious, and having a sense of the loveliness and beauty of that holiness and grace. There is a difference between having a rational judgment that honey is sweet, and having a sense of its sweetness.
Delighting in God is more than mentally affirming that His grace satisfies. It is tasting the sweetness of His grace. We must “taste and see that the Lord is good.” As we do, we are blessed as we take refuge in Him (Psalm 34:8).
