Delighting in Jesus: Fulfillment 

By Kiana Hershey

“Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him . . .“—Psalm 37:3–5 (NIV)

To delight in the Lord means to gain all joy from Him, and seek happiness in Him! Intentional effort must be put forth in taking delight in Him. It's a conscious decision and heart posture. The dictionary defines delight as "inclining one’s heart toward someone or something." It's important to ask ourselves to whom or to what are we looking to in order to gain happiness or fulfillment? Who or what are delighting in? Who or what is our heart inclined towards?

We must eagerly desire to gain all fulfillment in Him, fixing our eyes and posturing our hearts towards Him. We will truly delight in Him when we truly know Him! When we're seeking after the Lord, getting to know His character and nature, how could we not take delight in the most incredible being, in the One who is supremely delightful and worthy? Think of it this way . . . When there is someone you really like, you can’t get enough of being around them, thinking about them, or learning about them! In the same way, the more we spend time with the Lord, learning about His heart, His nature, and His goodness, the more we will delight in Him. We won't be able to get enough! In Psalm 34:8, we're given this directive: “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.”

It's very important to posture our heart in such a way that our thoughts don't go first and foremost to the desires we have, but instead to delight ourselves in God! Scripture tells us that we are to FIRST delight in the Lord, and if we do, then He grants us the desires of our heart! When we take delight in Him first, He will re-align the desires of our heart to His desires for us! If we delight ourselves in the Lord, we will experience an overflow of contentment because He continues to give us more of Himself, which is never ending! This is the beginning of finding genuine fulfillment in the Lord!

Pause: Am I taking delight in the Lord Himself or the things He has done for me? 

Ponder:  What are some habits I can form or spiritual disciplines I can implement that will help me to set aside time to know the Lord so that I can delight in Him? How do you see Jesus being glorified through you taking delight in Him?

Practice: Take time to reflect and ask the Lord to reveal what you are attempting to fill yourself with rather than the Lord!