Mensa Otabil - Choose to Delight In the Lord
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Psalm 37, verse 4: Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. There is always a time of waiting when we have prayed. You have prayed for God to do something for you, but you haven’t received the answer. What do you do during that period?
You know, sometimes you can get so obsessed with what you’re praying for that, while the answer has not yet manifested, you become anxious. You get so disturbed, and then sometimes you become hungry and bitter, especially when you see other people doing well. You’re believing God for marriage, and it’s delayed a bit, while others are getting married. Oh, you believe God for the fruit of the womb, and you don’t have a child yet, but others have two or three children. You’re wondering, how should I manage my life in the waiting period, in the time when I’ve prayed for something and haven’t received the answer? What do I do?
That is what this verse is addressing. While you’ve prayed for something and are waiting to see the answer, it says, Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Delight means be happy. Delight yourself; be happy in the Lord, be glad in the Lord, be joyful in the Lord, and God will give you the desires of your heart. A couple of things you need to learn is that when you are in that period waiting for something, you have to delight in the Lord. You have to practice praise, and you have to take time to really thank God, not just bombard Him with prayer: «Lord, I need it! Lord, I need it! Lord, I need it!»
You have to get to the point where you say, «Lord, I thank You for it. I give You praise for it. Thank You, Lord, that You have done it for me,» and genuinely get to the time or place in your life where you can really thank God for your life. You can be happy and delight yourself in Him. Practice praise, be thankful, have a heart of gratitude while you’re waiting for your prayer to be answered. Not only that, participate in the joy of others. Delight in other people’s joy.
When somebody comes to share their testimony and it’s an answer to what you are seeking, don’t get bitter, don’t get angry, don’t get frustrated. Delight in that; be genuine about it. Don’t make negative comments; don’t say nasty things about what is going on in their lives. Don’t hide in your room and cry your heart out. Delight in the joy of other people because God is showing you His faithfulness through others, and the same God who works for other people is the same God who is working on your case, and He will bring it to pass. Delight in the joy of others and delight in God’s work.
Promote God’s work; pour yourself into God’s work. Get involved in things that bring a blessing to other people. Sometimes it is helping other people see their breakthroughs, helping others see answers to their prayers, helping other people’s lives to be better, solving problems for other people. While you’re doing that, you’re delighting in the Lord. You’re praising the Lord; you are thankful for other people who are experiencing their miracles and breakthroughs. You are committed to improving the lives of others; you are delighting in the work of the Lord. You’re doing the work of the Lord, and sometimes while you’re doing that, while you’ve forgotten your own prayer, out of nowhere, the answer comes.
That is why when God turns around our captivity, we are like those who dream, because as we delight in Him, He delights in us and performs His good work toward us. Delight in the Lord; be happy. God will take care of you, and it’s going to work out well for you in Jesus' name.
Let’s pray. Say with me: Heavenly Father, thank You for meeting my needs. I delight myself in You and in all that You are doing in my life. In Jesus' name, amen, and amen.