“Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37:4

If you’re like me, you’re naturally drawn to this verse. For obvious reasons. We all want our desires fulfilled.

Of course the key to the verse is the first part: delight yourself in the LORD.

But how do we do that?

To delight in something means to find pleasure and enjoyment in it. To be glad about it. To be happy about it.

Do you find pleasure and enjoyment in the LORD? Are you happy about Him?

Or are you finding your pleasure and enjoyment in lesser things? I’m not suggesting the lesser things are bad things. Just lesser.

In Matthew 10:37, Jesus said, “Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

To delight in the LORD means He has a place in our lives reserved for no one else. It means He comes before everyone and everything else. Before family. Before work. Before money. Before hobbies. Before ourselves.

Delighting in Him means we take seriously what Paul said in Colossians 3:1-4:

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”

When we delight in the LORD, we choose to set our hearts and minds on Him, not on earthly things. We recognize that our real life is in Christ and that we are seated with Him at the right hand of the Father.

Of course, all of this is easier said than done, right? It’s nice to talk about delighting in the LORD and setting our hearts and minds on Him, but we still live in the world with all of its cares and concerns. So how do we practically live this out?

Let me suggest a few ways.

1. Spend time in His word everyday. There’s just no substitute for this. Hebrews 4:12 tells us that the Bible is “living and active.” There’s no other book that’s living and active. The Bible contains everything we need to know to live life on planet earth. As we read it, we get to know God better. We see how He works and how He thinks. We discover His priorities and His ways of doing things. We cannot delight in Him without consistent time in His word.

2. Make a play list of worship songs you like and listen to them often. I happen to like Chris Tomlin and David Crowder a lot right now. I often listen to worship songs while going for a run or working out. You might find it’s a great way to begin the day rather than turning on the morning news. Maybe it’s the perfect way to end your day. Listen to a few songs before going to sleep. How cool would that be to have worship songs floating around in your subconscious all night?

3. Find at least one friend with whom you can talk about what God is doing in your life, what He’s teaching you, what you love about Him, how you’re trusting Him, etc. The Christian life is lived in community. It’s not a solo event. I used to think all I needed was me, my Bible and God, but I need other people, too. I need their love and encouragement and they need mine. I’ve also found there’s great power in verbally sharing what I believe. When I hear myself say things out loud, it’s very different than if I just think them.

4. Choose to believe God, not your circumstances. Hebrews 11:6 says, “And without faith it is impossible to please God…” Are you trusting God or what you can see? Your finances are a good barometer. Are you worried about money? Could your giving be described as generous? Are you using your resources to advance His kingdom or your comfort? Jesus said, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” You will not cultivate a heart for God and learn to delight in Him if you are not a generous giver.

If you’ve got other things that have worked for you, I hope you’ll leave a comment and share them with the rest of us.