Who Actually Has Your Heart Today?

 

 

Are you delighting yourself in the Lord? Do you enjoy sitting at the feet of Jesus and partaking of the sweet fruit of His Word?

Or are you playing the hypocrite by pretending to love a God Who you really don't love? Do you have to force excitement over the things of the Lord so as to give a good impression to others, or is it a genuine thrill that you feel while walking with Jesus each day?

 

 

Psalm 37:4 says - "Delight thyself also in the Lord; and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart." 

 

Here is a Scripture that is very commonly quoted by Christians. Many have claimed this beautiful promise with a new car, home, better paying job, worldwide ministry, godly spouse, etc., in mind.

 

Exactly what does this Scripture mean to us as Christians?

Are we entitled to all desires being fulfilled by God because of this Word to us?

Is God obligated to give us what we want because of this so-called "blank check" promise?

 

First of all, let's examine the Scriptures to see exactly who gets their desires fulfilled.

Proverbs 10:24 says - "...the desire of the righteous shall be granted."

Said another way - Psalm 145:19 says - "He will fulfill the desire of them that fear Him..."

So we see that there is a certain class of people who enjoy the fulfillment of their heart's desires. They are the righteous who fear God.

 

The righteous man is one who is just and lawful. He is consistently and uncompromisingly in right standing before God.

Psalm 1:1-2 - He is the man who doesn't walk in the "counsel of the ungodly," stand in the "way of sinners," nor sit in the "seat of the scornful." Instead, his delight is in the law of God which he meditates in day and night.

Psalm 15:2-3 - He walks uprightly, works righteousness, and speaks the truth in his heart. He doesn't backbite, do evil to his neighbor, nor take up a reproach against his neighbor.

Psalm 24:4 - He has "clean hands" and a "pure heart." To this man, the Lord will bestow the longings of his heart.

Proverbs 16:6 - To this man who - by the fear of the Lord - has departed from all evil and who fears to displease the Lord in any way, God will grant the goodwill and delight of his heart.

 

John 16:24 - The righteous man will ask, and he will receive that his joy may be full.

Psalm 34:9 - Because there is no lack to those who fear the Lord,

Psalm 36:8 - he will be "abundantly satisfied" with the fatness of God's house.

Matthew 6:33 - Because he has his priorities in rightful order - seeking "first the kingdom of God and His righteousness" -

Matthew 5:6 - and hungering and thirsting after righteousness,

Luke 1:53 - God fills him with "good things."

 

A person in right standing with God only desires that which is good.
Proverbs 11:23 attests to that fact - "The desire of the righteous is only good..."

On the other hand, Proverbs 21:10 says - "The soul of the wicked desireth evil..."

 

Therefore, we can conclude - based on these Scriptures - that a man's true Spirituality is known by what he desires. Those who are righteous desire only those things which are morally good, excellent, and pleasing unto God; whereas, the wicked man desires that which is immoral, wrong, and sinful in God's sight. 

 

King David was a righteous man.

1 Samuel 13:14 - The Scriptures refer to him as a "man after His(God's) own heart." He passionately desired God and the things of God.

Psalm 27:4 records his desire to live in the presence of the Lord - "One thing have I desired...to dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in His temple."

 

The Psalmist of Psalm 119 followed hard after God.

Psalm 119:10 - This is evident by the following Scripture - "With my whole heart have I sought Thee..."

In the words of a song found in Isaiah 26:9, the Prophet Isaiah adds - "With my soul have I desired Thee in the night..."

Psalm 119:5 tells us that the Psalmist desired to live for God - "O that my ways were directed to keep Thy statutes!"

Again, we see this same desire in the words of Psalm 119:133 - "Order my steps in Thy Word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me."

 

David was a man who delighted himself in the Lord. What exactly does it mean to delight in the Lord? The word delight means to be happy about, take exquisite delight in, and take great pleasure in.

 

We see this exemplified in Psalm 43:4 when he refers to God as "my exceeding joy."

In other words, the Lord God of Israel was the greatest of all pleasures to this Song Writer.

Thinking of the Lord and His Holy Word far exceeded all of the joys of this world to him.

 

In Psalm 104:34, David had sweet and pleasant musings of God - "My meditation of Him shall be sweet..." He found great pleasure in simply thinking about Him.

Psalm 119:16 - His Word brought him great happiness - "I will delight myself in Thy statutes..."  Psalm 119:111 - His "testimonies" were the "rejoicing" of his heart.

Psalm 119:127 - He loved His commandments "above gold."

 

A very picturesque description of delighting in the Lord can be found in the Song of Solomon 2:3 - "As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under His shadow with great delight, and His fruit was sweet to my taste."

 

The apple tree is planted in the midst of other trees. It is distinguished from the others by its sweet fruit. Likewise, our heavenly Bridegroom stands in the midst of other lovers, but far exceeds all others by His sweet fruit - His Holy Word. Every true child of God takes great pleasure in sitting at the feet of Jesus, hearing His Word - "I sat down under His shadow with great delight, and His fruit was sweet to my taste." We - who delight to sit in the "shade" (presence) of our God and partake of His nourishing Word - can joyfully exclaim along with David -

Psalm 34:8 - "O taste and see that the Lord is good..."

 

Titus 1:16 - How sad it is today that there are many who profess to know God but "in works they deny Him." They used to sit under Jesus' shadow but no longer find delight in this pleasant setting. His fruit(the Word of God) is no longer sweet to their taste.

Matthew 15:8 - They honor the Lord with their mouths, but their hearts are far from Him.

2 Timothy 3:4 - They have become lovers of the pleasures of this world and their own flesh rather than "lovers of God."

 

Job 27:10 - Job asks a very insightful question in speaking of the hypocrite - "Will he delight himself in the Almighty?" A hypocrite may play the "religious game" for some time, but he cannot - for very long - disguise the deadness which he feels because he has no "delight" in the Lord. The passion or desire for Him is simply not there.

 

For those who once walked with God and are now playing the hypocrite by living in sin, the first thing that goes in their relationship is the sweet delight in Jesus and His Holy Word. To not be excited about Him and the Scriptures is to play the hypocrite! Something else has their heart; otherwise it would be a great delight to sit under His shadow and partake of His sweet fruit.

 

How about you?

Are you living righteously and uprightly before the Lord?

Do you fear Him?

If so, He will give you the desires of your heart.

 

What kind of yearnings do you have?

Do you long for things that are pleasing in His sight like being in His presence and living  honorably before Him?

Or are you desiring those things that are sinful, evil, and contrary to His Word and Will for your life?

 

Is Jesus your "exceeding joy"?

Do you think often about Him?

Or has something or someone else captured your heart?

 

Are you delighting yourself in the Lord?

Do you enjoy sitting at His feet and partaking of the sweet fruit of His Word?

Or are you playing the hypocrite by pretending to love a God Who you really don't love?

Do you have to force excitement over the things of the Lord so as to give a good impression to others, or is it a genuine thrill that you feel while walking with Jesus each day?

 

Last but not least - Who actually has your heart today? 

 

This will be the determining factor as to whether or not you receive the desires of your heart.