“Happy New Year!” Even if you’re reading this at some other time of the year, everything here still applies. That old familiar saying – “This is the first day of the rest of your life” is very cliché, but also very true! The choices we make today will shape our tomorrow and even our eternity. In Psalm 37:4 we find a verse that sheds light on the choices we should make, whether today is New Year’s Day, or not.
“Delight yourself in the Lord;
and He will give you the desires of your heart.”
At first glance, this sounds like we are promised all our dreams will come true. And they will, but there’s a catch! Look closer, we first need to “delight in the Lord”. I’m not exactly sure what all that means, but I do know it includes aligning our will to God’s will.
Imagine you’re on a romantic date and trying so hard to impress your beloved. You delight in him/her and you want do what pleases them. A walk at sunset? OK, it doesn’t really matter that your feet already hurt from a long day at work. Picnic lunch or fancy dinner? Either way is just fine. A comedy movie or science fiction? Whatever, as long you’re together! Those emotions are your heart delighting in your beloved.
In a similar way, when I “delight in the Lord”, I go along with His plans. I approve of His choices for my career, my marriage, my health, etc. I’m open to doing whatever God wants of me. When this happens, of course God gives us the desires of our heart – because our desires are now His desires. As a result, we soon find our wildest dreams coming true!
How can this be so? Do we “earn” God’s favor? Do we now “deserve” these dreams and desires become reality? Certainly not, every good gift comes to us from God’s grace. Yet the Scriptures contain several clues, pointing us down a path where our dreams do indeed come true:
- 1. Begin by lighting your path well with God’s Word (Psalm 119:9, 11).
- 2. Let God take the lead and follow close (Proverbs 3:5-6).
- 3. Obsess, as Paul did, over your relationship with Christ (Philippians 3:13).
- 4. Seek the Lord’s wisdom and guidance in all your decisions (James 1:5-8).
- 5. Pray often and always according to God’s will (I John 5:14).
- 6. Keep heavenly thoughts and let your heart dwell on things above (Philippians 4:8).
- 7. Finally, delight in the Lord; let Him be your greatest joy and your daily song (Psalm 37:4).
Moving forward into 2020, I am doing a short daily devotion, going through the entire book of Psalms, one Psalm each day. Please consider joining with me on this journey as part of your New Year resolutions. You can find my daily Psalm posts, “Chapter by Chapter”, on Facebook.
How blessed are those whose delight is in the Law of the Lord!