GLEANINGS FROM THE SCRIPTURES Delight In The Lord! By Keith L. Estes Most of us know someone who is delightful to be with. They are an encouragement to us and bring stimulating conversation as well as an excitement about life. We endeavor to respond in like manner. That can be, for all practical purposes, delighting in another person. King David makes this observation when he writes in Psalm thirty- seven, "Be delighted in the Lord. Then he will give you all your heart's desires. Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him to help you do it and he will." To delight in the Lord means that we need to direct our focus. David says that, "As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master...so our eyes look to the Lord." Our spiritual strength begins to be drained when we stop lifting our eyes to Him. What a person receives by delighting in many other things will only last a lifetime, perhaps. The reward we shall receive by delighting in the Lord will last forever, positively. David calls us to take delight in the Lord and to commit everything we do to him. But how do we do this? To delight in someone means to experience great pleasure and joy in his or her presence. This happens only when we know that person well. To commit ourselves to the Lord means that we entrust everything, our lives, families, jobs, and possessions to his control and guidance. Thus, to delight in the Lord we must know him. Knowledge of his great love for us will indeed give us delight. To commit ourselves to the Lord means to trust him believing that he can care for us better than we can ourselves. We should be willing to wait for him to work out what is best for us. Oswald Chambers writes, "There is only one relationship that really matters, and that is your personal relationship to your personal Redeemer and Lord. If you maintain that at all costs, letting everything else go, God will fulfill His purpose through your life. One individual life may be of priceless value to God's purposes, and yours may be that life." Fanny Crosby in her hymn, “I Am Thine, O Lord,” writes the following words; I am Thine O Lord, I have heard Thy voice, And it told Thy love to me; But I long to rise in the arms of faith, And be closer drawn to Thee. O the pure delight of a single hour That before Thy throne I spend, When I kneel in prayer, and with Thee, my God, I commune as friend with friend! Delight thyself in the Lord! References: Psalm 37:4-5, 123:2, Life Application Bible and My Utmost For His Highest by Oswald Chambers. Return to Home Page Return to Current Edition Contact us