Delight and Desire part 3
Yesterday we looked at desire. Today we're looking at delight. Because it seems like one of the biggest questions in the "Christian world" is... HOW do I delight in the Lord? HOW do I worship and praise Him? HOW do I love Him? And the short answer is: You love God by loving people. Jesus said, "And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me" (Matthew 25:40). And yes I know that verse is in the middle of a parable, but the connection remains. If God lives IN man, then what we do to man, we do to Him. Which really puts a spin on our key verse, "Delight thyself in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart" (Psalm 37:4). Because in order to delight in the Lord... we have to delight in one another. Now here's what I'm NOT saying: I'm NOT saying we have to fake it 'til we make it and pretend to get along with everybody. That's fake. And one thing about the human race is... we're good at knowing the difference between what's real and what's fake. See, we have this idea where we think, "Ok... If I love people then God will love me." "If I delight myself in Him then He'll give me the desires of my heart." But it's not an "if then" statement. BY delighting in Him we EXPERIENCE the desire of our heart (which is love). Think about it this way: On the cross God gave us the desires of our heart. He gave us His Son. He gave us His Spirit. He gave us Himself. So He's not waiting until we do something. He did His part in order to equip and empower us to do our part. Let me say it like this: His part is the Way of Grace. Our part is the Walk of Faith. But grace had to come first. The gift had to be given apart from any effort that we could put forth. Because if it was dependent on our effort then it wouldn't be a gift. A gift is only a gift if it is freely given. But a gift must be receieved before it can be enjoyed. Look at what the phrase, "delight thyself," means in Psalm 37:4, "to be soft or pliable." Basically it's the opposite of having a hard heart. It's understanding that God is the potter and we are the clay. And He makes us into whatever He wants us to be (which is His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased). It's understanding that the wind (of the Holy Spirit) blows where He wants to and He carries us where He wants us to go. It's rendering your body as a living sacrifice. Delighting yourself in the Lord is letting Jesus do whatever He wants to do in and through and as you. And here's the best part: What Jesus wants to do in and through and as you... is love. Because that's what He does. Because that's who He is. And because He lives in you... that's who YOU are. So here's the long and the short of it: Delight thyself in the Lord (by delighting in people). Love the Lord your God (by loving people). And when you do that, you receive the desire of your heart (to be loved) which He gave us 2,000 years ago. By releasing the gift we receive the gift and experience the gift! His love flows into us and out of us!