An Invitation to Delight

"Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4 

Originally, when I sat down to write this post, had the verse above in mind. At the time, I saw this Psalm as God's command to His children to delight in Himself. I think that often I (and maybe you too) can struggle with delighting in the Lord. We think to ourselves, "Why isn't God enough for me? ... Why do I look to these carnal, temporary things to bring me joy? ... Am I failing to honor God's commands?" We are left feeling like a "mediocre Christian", trapped in this thing or that thing - whether it is depression, a sin stronghold, or anything else. We ask God to take away our desires for worldly things and replace them with an unceasing desire for Him.

But, what if Psalm 37:4 isn't a command at all? What if we are not actually commanded to have joy in our Father? After all, can delight really be commanded?

As I studied this verse more, I had the thought that maybe "Delight yourself in the Lord..." is really an invitation rather than a command. Here's the thing, if we understand Psalm 37:4 as an invitation, then our perspective would radically change. Stay with me and I'll try to explain...

According to Blue Letter Bible, the word delight in the Hebrew text is "`anag", meaning "to be pampered, to take exquisite delight".

The call to "Delight in the Lord..." is an invitation to be pampered by our Heavenly Father. God wouldn't command us to do something that He Himself does for us. Instead He invites us to Himself. Imagine the exquisite delight that would come from being pampered by the Maker of stars, planets, flowers, birds, and all beautiful things! To be pampered by the God whose mere backside made Moses' face radiate and glow (Exodus 33-34) is an invitation we would be a fool to not accept.

Doesn't this change a lot of things when you think about delight in God as an invitation instead of a command? Instead of asking God to take away our desires for things of this world, we can realize that those desires will pale in comparison if we enter into His presence and delight exquisitely in His pampering.

"You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore." Psalm 16:11 

Our God desires to bless us with the desires of our hearts. He is inviting you and I into His presence. Once we experience His presence and His pampering, our every desire will be satisfied.