delight and desire

Now I’m not trying to bore you all with a definition, but I want all of you to check this out… Webster's dictionary defines joy as “the emotion evoked by well-being, success, good fortune or the prospect of possessing what one desires; a source or cause of delight.” We are going to be focusing on this part of what joy is, “possessing what one desires; a source or cause of delight.” 

One of my favorite Psalms, a Psalm that has truly been on my heart lately, says this, “Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” But what does it truly mean to desire? This is a question I have struggled to answer throughout my years of being a follower of Jesus; honestly, I thought it was wrong to desire. That’s because the only desires I’ve ever known have only been for myself. I’ve only heard desire being used in the context of worldly desire, so to think that the Lord will fulfill my desires is something I never thought was correct, but oh how wrong was I. Needless to say, when I believed this lie from the enemy, I was the shortest on joy, the shortest on love, and the shortest on rest. 

Let’s go back to that question “What does it mean to truly desire?” To desire means to delight, so to answer this question we must know the answer to another question, “What does it mean to delight?” 

Jim Branch explains this flawlessly, “to delight in the Lord is to be softened by his words. Becoming more vulnerable to His touch.” When I first read this in my devotion I couldn’t hold back the sudden flush of tears that streamed down my face. That’s when it all clicked. Our desires come from where we delight, where we gaze. When we delight in the Lord, we find the deepest joy and gladness in who He is, and in His great affection for us. When we take a moment to sit and delight in the Lord we find what our soul truly desires: joy, rest, trust, surrender, love, hope, comfort, etc. Notice that, when we sit with the Lord - we find what our soul truly desires.

	When we desire the Lord we are simply growing our hearts toward grateful recognition of God’s reality and goodness. 

Simply put: When we delight in the Lord we desire more and more of the Lord, and this is where we find Joy. Keyword - FIND. 

Finding joy is the beauty of all things good. It is the nice crisp morning on a spring day. It’s the birds singing as you wake up. The trees dancing in the wind. It’s sitting with your best friends laughing until you cry. It’s having the life changing conversations on a late night car ride.

Finding joy is simply recognizing God in every moment. 

As we delight in the Lord we desire to learn and see more and more of who is. More joy, more peace, more rest, more stillness, the list goes on. So I encourage you, if you don’t know where to start finding joy. Sit. Delight with the Lord. Let him show you the desires of His heart. Let him show you true joy, true love, true rest.

-n0tbycayden