Delighting In The Lord

Have you ever read the first part of Psalm 37 and wondered, "Hmm, verse 4 says, 'Delight thyself also in the LORD; and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart.' How can I delight myself in the Lord so that He will give me what I want?"
Maybe you haven't been quite that blunt, but if you really admitted it, that would be what you meant. I know I have.

Of course that's the wrong reasoning - we shouldn't want to obey the Bible just so we get a treat for good behavior. We shouldn't, but we do. We are human - sometimes we're just selfish.

But what if you're genuinely trying to obey the Bible, follow God's plan for the best honorable and godly living, or just truly wanting to "delight ... in the Lord", regardless of any 'reward'? How do you delight in the Lord?

I wondered about this for years. I've been in both places - desiring things and wanting to know how to delight in the Lord, so that He would give me the things I desired, and also just wanting to know how to delight in Him, simply because I wanted to do what's right.

Then I came across this thought: Maybe the verse doesn't mean that the Lord will give you what you desire, if you delight in Him. Now, it may, but what if it means that, if you delight in Him, He will give you your desires? As in, He will be the one to make you want the things you want.
Just something to consider.

But I still wondered how to delight in the Lord. I'd never really thought about 'delight' as an action before. More like a state of being. As in, "She was delighted with how the project turned out." How do you 'delight' in something, or someone? Does that just mean that you love them very much? Does it mean that you hold them in such high regard and respect that you nearly (or in God's case, you do) worship them? Does it mean that you are happy to be around them? Happy to obey them and serve them? Is it all these things rolled into one?
To find the answer became almost an obsession with me for a time.

But then, as time went on and I've been blessed to be under more good Bible teaching and learn more through my own study, I became content with simply doing my best to fulfill that idea of 'delighting in the LORD' in my life:
By striving to cultivate a spirit of thankfulness to the LORD for whatever He allows in my life, whether it seems good or whether it seems bad.
By praising Him for the undeniable ways He touches me.
By loving His people that He has put into my life - with all that I have in me.
By taking care of my body - which is His temple - through a well-rounded diet, fresh air, sunshine, and exercise.
By making an intentional, valiant effort to control my fiery temper and sometimes-easily-offended feelings.
By trying to train my mind to dwell on things of rich value, instead of things that are innocent enough, but have no real or lasting value (for example, praying for a friend when I find myself daydreaming about a fiction book).
By doing my best to appreciate the blessings of life that so often get overlooked or taken for granted.
By singing or making music to the Lord as often as I can, either physically or in my heart.
By being on the look-out for opportunities to be a friend, to be an encourager, and to be a witness, in practical, simple, loving ways.

Do not think that I have it all figured out now, or that I am trying to brag or boast for myself in the least. I assure you I am not. I boast in the LORD Who has helped me and, I believe, showed me how to live 'delighted' in Him.

I still do not really feel like I thoroughly know the meaning of that verse. But last Sunday, the thought came to me all-of-a-sudden that perhaps I have been 'delighting in the LORD'; for, in the last three or so years, He has given me (or is giving me) the fulfillment of most of the dearest and deepest desires of my heart. Perhaps He gave me the desires also :) .

Note: Just a side note that I found interesting, but the Wednesday night after that Sunday, Bro. Mike used Ps. 37:3-6 as the Scripture for the night's lesson. Later in the week, the author of the book I'm currently reading used verse 4. She points out the Webster's Dictionary definition of "delight": "A high degree of gratification, extreme pleasure." And today, in the little devotional booklet that we read out of in the mornings, the day's reading was Ps. 37:1-8. I'd not come across this set of verses in months, and now I've run into it four times within the last two weeks. Just found that interesting :) .