In what are you "delighting" today?

 

Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4 (ESV)   We do not often talk of "delighting" in someone. In the original language, the word delight is a primitive root meaning to be soft or pliable. It implies being delicate in a way that totally makes oneself enjoyably available. Another literal translation might be "Seek for delicacies in the Lord." As one delights in God, one wants to please God, and the desires of our hearts align with the God in Whom we are delighted. Therefore, to give us the desires of our hearts is to provide us with the very will of God.   1 Corinthians 2:9 says this: But, as it is written, "What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him." Those who love God and live as if they love God will find satisfaction in this life and be honored in the next.   In what are you "delighting" today? What satisfaction has it brought to you?

Instead of fretting…

 Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers! For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb. Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.

Psalm 37:1-3 (ESV)
 
Often, when God tells us to avoid one behavior, He gives us another positive action. In this case, we are told not to fret about evildoers. As mentioned in the previous “Thought for the Day,” fretting wastes time and changes nothing, while ruining our lives.
 
Instead of fretting we are told to trust the Lord. This has enormous implications. Those in God's family can trust that their Father has their back. They can know that anyone who does evil to them because of their love of Him will be dealt with. First and foremost, God would like to bring them into the family and have them on the same side. However, if they choose to continue to be enemies of God, they will be enemies of His children, and they will eventually pay the price for such foolishness.
 

Fret Not!

 Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers! For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb.

Psalm 37:1-2 (ESV)
 
“Fret not” sounds easy, but applies hard. So often, evil gets most of our thought time. Usually, we stress out over what others are doing or saying. It is as if we think that our continual thinking about them will change them and what they are about. Fretting about someone doing wrong has never changed the person doing wrong.
 
The idea of fretting here could be comparable to sandpaper and wood. If I was to take sandpaper and rub it on a piece of wood until it is gone, it would be a laborious and worthless act. Fretting gives us the same work and the same results. In this strange way, the evil doers ruin our lives when they attack us and when they are not even around us because of our constant "fretting."
 
Evildoers need God's intervention, and the best thing we can do is pray for them and entrust our lives to God.

This universe is not about me.

 Transgression speaks to the wicked deep in his heart; there is no fear of God before his eyes. For he flatters himself in his own eyes that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated. The words of his mouth are trouble and deceit; he has ceased to act wisely and do good. He plots trouble while on his bed; he sets himself in a way that is not good; he does not reject evil.

Psalm 36:1-4 (ESV)
 
Transgression, or rebellion, speaks deeply to the non-believer's heart. It starts with fearing something or someone other than God, and then moves to elevating oneself in the sight of others.
 
If you do not know God, you seem to want to become God. Yet, if you think about being God for just a moment, you would not want that position. First and foremost, we do not have God's attributes, the attributes necessary to be the creator and sustainer of the universe. Second, we are not capable of carrying the burden that God alone can carry.
 
This universe is not about me. It was created for me. There is a big difference in that.

Those who love God must be patient.

 How long, O Lord, will you look on? Rescue me from their destruction, my precious life from the lions! I will thank you in the great congregation; in the mighty throng I will praise you. Let not those rejoice over me who are wrongfully my foes, and let not those wink the eye who hate me without cause. For they do not speak peace, but against those who are quiet in the land they devise words of deceit. They open wide their mouths against me; they say, "Aha, Aha! Our eyes have seen it!" You have seen, O LORD; be not silent! O Lord, be not far from me! Awake and rouse yourself for my vindication, for my cause, my God and my Lord! Vindicate me, O LORD, my God, according to your righteousness, and let them not rejoice over me! Let them not say in their hearts, "Aha, our heart's desire!" Let them not say, "We have swallowed him up." Let them be put to shame and disappointed altogether who rejoice at my calamity! Let them be clothed with shame and dishonor who magnify themselves against me! 

Psalm 35:17-23 (ESV)
 
AG Brown summarized how long we need to wait on the Lord.
 
1. "Long enough to try your faith." He loves to strengthen the faith of His people. Hence He often tries them by delaying the answers to their prayer.
2. "Long enough to teach you your own weakness."
3. To make you value the deliverance. That which is easily obtained is little valued. "Lord, how long wilt Thou look on?"
4. "Until the right moment." Not a moment too soon for His own glory: not a moment too late for your good.
 
Our clock is always too fast; we call upon the Lord and say, "Lord, now is the time; the hour to deliver has struck," but no answer comes because He keeps not His time by ours, and His clock still wants some minutes to the hour; but when that has struck, swift as the lightning flash He is at our side. Trust Him, then believe. Though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come. (A. G. Brown.)
 
Those who love God must be patient.

Significance and Security

 The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous, and his ears toward their cry. The face of the LORD is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth. When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all.

Psalm 34:15-19 (ESV)
 
Those who trust in God will never be ashamed. They may and should be disappointed in this life; they may be rejected, hated, despised, and even persecuted, but never ashamed.
 
Those who are ashamed of being Christians or Christ followers do not know God. If you spend time getting to know God, it will be well spent, for at some point in the process, the world and the universe make sense, and your part within both becomes relevant.
 
Significance and security come from knowing God, pointing to Him, and consistently doing that daily and in every circumstance.

Those who seek the Lord, find the Lord.

 I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the LORD; let the humble hear and be glad. Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together! I sought the LORD, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed. This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him and saved him out of all his troubles.

Psalm 34:1-6 (ESV)
 
Those who seek the Lord, find the Lord. If you have not found Him, you have not been seeking Him. You would rather give up this life than your association with Him when you find Him. It has been that way throughout history. The term abandonment would not work because you cannot abandon a God with Whom you are only acquainted. Those willing to abandon God have never really sought Him in the first place.