40 Days of TRUST
Dr Jim Brown's TruNorth Devotional
40 Days of TRUST
Day 20 | TRUST AND DELIGHT
40 Days of TRUST
Day 20 | TRUST AND DELIGHT
TRUST AND DELIGHT
Psalm 37:3-4
“Trust in the Lord and do good. Then you will live safely in the land and prosper. Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you your heart’s desires.” (NLT)
Many people struggle with how to understand the Bible. ONE of the essential steps is to read a verse “in context.” This means to read the verse before and the verse after to perhaps further explain what the original verse means.
This week we’ve been looking at Psalm 37:3. Today we add verse 4.
Verse 4 says: “Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you your heart’s desires.” (NLT)
Psalm 37:4 in the Amplified version says: “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires and petitions of your heart."
David – the author of this wonderful psalm – explains that we also need to “delight in the Lord.”
Now, HOW do we do that?
One commentator said this: “The reason many apparent Christians do not delight in God is that they do not know Him very well, and the reason they do not know Him very well is that they do not spend time with Him.” (Boice)
The New KJV says the verse this way: “Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.”
I like the word “also” because there are legitimate pleasures that God is happy for us to delight in in this life. However, to enjoy the fullness of this promise (“… and HE will give you your heart’s desires”), we must DELIGHT in the LORD as well. We must enjoy Him fully.
The Old Westminster catechism asks, “What is the chief end of man?” The answer: “To glorify God and ENJOY Him forever.” This verse reflects that priority.
Prayer: LORD, I do want to ENJOY You. I do want to take delight in You. I do want to enjoy the promises of Psalm 37:3-4. Please help me to pursue knowing You better, day by day, week by week. And thanks for being patient with me. Amen.
Psalm 37:3-4
“Trust in the Lord and do good. Then you will live safely in the land and prosper. Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you your heart’s desires.” (NLT)
Many people struggle with how to understand the Bible. ONE of the essential steps is to read a verse “in context.” This means to read the verse before and the verse after to perhaps further explain what the original verse means.
This week we’ve been looking at Psalm 37:3. Today we add verse 4.
Verse 4 says: “Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you your heart’s desires.” (NLT)
Psalm 37:4 in the Amplified version says: “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires and petitions of your heart."
David – the author of this wonderful psalm – explains that we also need to “delight in the Lord.”
Now, HOW do we do that?
One commentator said this: “The reason many apparent Christians do not delight in God is that they do not know Him very well, and the reason they do not know Him very well is that they do not spend time with Him.” (Boice)
The New KJV says the verse this way: “Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.”
I like the word “also” because there are legitimate pleasures that God is happy for us to delight in in this life. However, to enjoy the fullness of this promise (“… and HE will give you your heart’s desires”), we must DELIGHT in the LORD as well. We must enjoy Him fully.
The Old Westminster catechism asks, “What is the chief end of man?” The answer: “To glorify God and ENJOY Him forever.” This verse reflects that priority.
Prayer: LORD, I do want to ENJOY You. I do want to take delight in You. I do want to enjoy the promises of Psalm 37:3-4. Please help me to pursue knowing You better, day by day, week by week. And thanks for being patient with me. Amen.