Today intern Abby shares what she has been learning about what it means to delight in the Lord and seek to build His kingdom instead of her own.
The residents on New Year’s Day were participating in a “Word for the Year” activity. They each made a plaque of a word they wanted to focus on and grow in over the next year—something they want 2021 to represent in a way. Interns who were on shift were also invited to do this—that included me.
Originally, I was going to do the word “peace.” But as I sat down to actually start making the plaque, the word “delight” went off in my brain like a lightbulb. I don’t know why exactly it happened, but it started to dawn on me that maybe I didn’t fully know what it meant to delight in the Lord.
I had learned a lot in 2020, my relationship with God had finally gotten to a point where it was actually a relationship. But was I delighting in God?
I started to look up Psalms on delighting in God. I found a few that I wanted to use on my plaque, but one stood out to me as what my main verse would be:
Psalm 37:4. Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you your heart’s desires.
He will give you your heart’s desires. So-what does that mean? He’ll give me whatever I want? That doesn’t seem right.
As I started to draw on my plaque and write out the verse, it occurred to me that maybe it’s not about God giving me my heart’s desires, but it’s about God changing my heart to desire what He desires. So, what is it that you desire, God? How do I pursue that?
I started researching what it meant to have God’s desires. I concluded that what I needed to do was seek God’s kingdom instead of trying to build my own. But how did I seek God’s kingdom?
I suppose that started with focusing on truth more than the lies I tell myself. It starts with redirecting my thoughts and heart to focus on good instead of evil. It starts with putting off my old self and focusing on the new creation that I am in Christ.
I wrote a short prayer along the border of my plaque. As I wrote, words flowed, and I didn’t need to stop to think about them.
This is my prayer for delighting in God in 2021, and for the rest of my life.
This year, I pray that my delight will be in the Lord. Not in myself, not in my family, not in my friends or relationships, but solely in God. I pray I will find peace and contentment as I find my delight in You. Let my desire be to glorify you and delight in you more than I desire to have my next breath. Please change my heart’s desires to be your desires, Lord.
Amen.
