Delight yourself in the Lord;
And He will give you the desires of your heart.
According to Psalm 37 verse 4, there’s a way for each one of
us to see our desires fulfilled, we have to delight ourselves in the Lord. But
before that can happen there are three other steps that we must take that will
ensure that we receive the desires of our hearts.
God is a God of order, He never does anything haphazardly.
The account of Creation is a prime example of the orderly way in which God
carries out His tasks. God’s way is a step-by-step process that cannot fail,
and it will serve you well to follow His sequence. Skipping steps is foolhardy
at best.
When God gives you a promise there are four crucial steps
that you must follow if you are to experience the fulfillment of your desires.
Each step in this sequence, found in verses 3, 4, 5, and 7 of Psalm 37, has a
name and can be applied to every area of your life.
- The first step is Trust.
Truly I have spoken;
truly I will bring it to pass. I have planned it, I will certainly do it. (Isaiah 46:11 NASB)
Trust in God, rely on Him, take refuge in Him, submit to
Him, and be confident that what He says He will do, He will certainly do. It’s
trusting God wholeheartedly, giving Him full control of every situation in your
life and allowing Him to have His way. Placing your trust in neighbours,
friends, family, or even yourself, is likely to result in failure but God will
never fail you, for He is faithful and does not change.
God is faithful, through whom
you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. (1 Corinthians 1:9 NASB)
- The second is Delight.
Come close to God and He will
come close to you. (James
4:8 NASB)
Delight yourself in God. You do that by keeping close
company with God so that you get to know Him intimately and savour His ways.
It’s allowing your will to be aligned to His so that He becomes all in all in
your life, causing you to earnestly and passionately seek Him first and eagerly
give up your heavy-laden labour to Him. When you delight yourself in God, you
see Him and embrace Him as your Abba, Father.
For you have not
received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have
received a spirit of
adoption as sons and daughters by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” (Romans 8:15 NASB)
- The next step is Commit.
Commit everything to God – your walk, your cause, your ways,
your vision, your goals, your intentions, your plans, your family, and your
entire life. It’s relinquishing your control of every single situation and
circumstance that concerns you, good and bad, and allowing God to take over
completely. It’s taking your hands off of your life and placing it squarely in
His in utter dependence on Him. When you commit in this manner, God promises to
act on your behalf to bring about the desires of your heart which are no longer
outside of His will for you. God can now be God in your life, for your good and
His glory.
…and he will establish
your plans. (Proverbs 16:3b NIV)
- The last in this list is Wait.
For still the vision
awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait
for it; it will surely come; it will not delay. (Habakkuk 2:3 ESV)
To wait patiently for God is seldom an act of passive
patience. It’s actively and expectantly waiting on God’s perfect timing. God is
never late; everything God says will happen will surely be fulfilled. Waiting
on God means to not give up but to remain steadfast in your trust in Him, daily
delighting yourself in Him, and resolutely committing all to Him. It’s having a
steady belief in God despite what appears to be a delay. When you’re waiting on
God take courage and do not get frustrated or weary but instead consistently
thank Him as you keep in mind that there’s an appointed time for every matter
under heaven. Be patient in your waiting and God promises to be good to you.
The Lord is good to
those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one
should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. (Lamentations 3:25-26 ESV)
Beloved, if you follow these steps as ordered by God, His
perfect will for your life is guaranteed to come to pass because your heartfelt
desires will align with God’s desires for you, and when they do, He will
establish your very thoughts, then blessings will follow in ways beyond your
imagination.
Amen †
Shelley Johnson “Trust, Delight, Commit, and Wait” © 2016
revisited October 1, 2025
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