S.O.S.

1 Do not fret because of those who are evil
    or be envious of those who do wrong;


2 for like the grass they will soon wither,
    like green plants they will soon die away.
3 Trust in the Lord and do good;
    dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.


4 Take delight in the Lord,
    and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Psalm 37:1-4

I’m still reflecting on yesterday’s blog. I’m regularly confronted by how unloving my heart can be. It’s terrifying how selfish my desires are. How do we cultivate a heart that loves God and loves people?

It reminded me of this famous verse. I used to hear only the second half of verse 4. God will give me the desires of my heart. That’s not what it says of course. It’s delight in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.

Now, think about that for a moment. There’s a danger that we can still hear - take delight in the Lord and He will give you the things you selfishly want. I don’t think that’s what it’s saying.

Take delight in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart that delights in the Lord. See the difference? When we delight in the Lord, we delight in the things He loves to give.

Here is the key to cultivating a heart that desires the right things like loving God and loving people. It’s to delight in Him. How? How do you delight in someone? Isn’t that a feeling you can’t control?

Well, no. You can choose to delight in someone. You can see this with children. Children can be delightful. But only if you spend time with them and get to know them. God is delightful. But you’ll only see it if you choose to delight in Him.

Today. Let’s choose to delight in Him as we gather together.

Today:

• What do you delight in most?
• What desires has God changed in you?
• How could you delight in Him today?

Pray:

• Praise God that He is truly delightful.
• Give thanks for Jesus who invites us to delight in God.
• Ask God for His Holy Spirit to help you and others delight in Him.