Delighting In God

Delighting in God

Psalm 37:4 "Delight yourself also in the LORD,

and He shall give you the desires of your heart."

Have you ever asked yourself - "Why was I created? What is the purpose of life?" In 1 Peter 4:11 we read. "That God in all things may be glorified." The chief end of man is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever. Jonathan Edwards (1703-58) wrote “God is glorified not only by His glory’s being seen, but by it being rejoiced in. When those that see it delight in it, God is more glorified than if they only see it…” To delight in something or someone means to take pleasure or find enjoyment in it. Webster's 1828 dictionary says "delight is a more permanent pleasure than joy, and not dependent on sudden excitement." The question before you is "Do you delight in God and the things of God?"

I. Four things of God in which we should delight

A. Delight in God's Word

1. Psalm 112:1 Praise the Lord! Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who delights greatly in His commandments."

2. Psalm 119:16 " I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word."

3. Psalm 1:1-3 " Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper."

4. To experience true happiness - to be blessed of God - we need to "delight" in the law of the Lord. God does not say here that you will be blessed if you appreciate His Word, nor if you merely respect it. We are to delight in it. - copied

5. Jeremiah 15:16 " Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing (delight) of my heart; for I am called by Your name, O LORD God of hosts."

B. Delight in God's Presence

1. James 4:8 " Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded."

2. A clergyman, who could only compose his en absolutely alone and undisturbed, one day left his door unlocked, and his little three-year-old child softly opened the door and came in. He was disturbed, and a little impatiently asked, "My child, what do you want?" "Nothing, papa." "Then what do you come in here for?" "Just because I wanted to be with you," was the reply. To come into God's presence and wait before Him, wanting nothing but to be with Him — How that ought to be our heart's delight.

3. Psalm 73:28 " But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, that I may tell of all your works."

4. Psalm 16:11 " You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore."

C. Delight in God's Will

1. Psalm 40:8 "I delight to do thy will, 0 my God!"

2. Obedience is the ecstasy of perfect love. - copied

3. We should always do God's will, even when we don't take delight in doing. Quite often, while doing His will God will change the painful task into pleasure, that which was reluctantly started becomes a joy! Whether or not it becomes delightful does not matter. Is it God's will? Then his will I must do. Satisfaction comes when God’s will is more important than our wants. - adapted from Our Daily Bread 1/27/2008

4. One person wrote, “Make Your will my heart’s desire.” I wanted not only to do His will, but to actually desire it for myself, as if it were my own will, and to even find joy and pleasure in doing His will. And to my great surprise He actually answered that prayer too."

D. Delight in God's People God wants us to delight in His people.

1. Psalm 16:3 " As for the saints who are on the earth, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight.”

2. The Bible tells us that taking delight in His people is such a character trait of His people that they can even be defined by it. You can know if a person has passed from death to life by whether they love God's people or not (1 John 3:14, John 13:35). Charles Spurgeon once said that the church is the greatest place on earth. Those who love Christ will love others who love Christ. It is as natural for Christians to delight in each other as it is for fish to swim in the ocean. - copied