Delight yourself 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 righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret--it leads only to evil.** Psalms 37:4-8 (NIV)**
The longer the believer delights in the Lord Jesus, their desires become more and more in line with His desires – meaning, they become more righteous in nature. We begin to want what He wants because we are convinced that He has our best interest at heart in all He allows – even in the hardest of circumstances and trials. God desires to conform us into the image of His Son as He was to be the firstborn among many brothers. Indeed, a transformed life speaks volumes to this lost world because it is so totally other in nature. It is a powerful force in a world desperate for meaning, direction and hope.
King David writes in our verses for today that God desires for His children not to be angry, envious and fretful over our circumstances rather trust in Him, leaning not simply on our own understanding. As we place Him on the throne of our lives, He will direct our paths – making them straight - and He will make our imputed righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of our cause as the noonday sun. We are called to be still and wait patiently. This does mean inactivity, rather continue doing what we are doing - trusting in Him to change our courses in His timing and for His glory. He desires for us to be faithful wherever He has placed us. This points others to Jesus and not to us.
God desires for believers in Jesus to make His Son known to a lost and hurting world who needs Him desperately. Indeed, He tells us in 1 John 2:6 (NIV): “Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.” As believers become more and more conformed to the image of Christ, we begin to “shine like the stars in the universe” as Paul writes to the Philippians in Philippians 2:14-16 (NIV): “Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing.”
Our obedience to His revealed will demonstrates our belief that we know His way is the very best for our lives. God always desires the very best for His saints – even if we cannot readily perceive it. If we delight in Him our desires will become more and more righteous as what does evil have to do with righteousness? It also does us well to remember that God is the righteous Judge - of all things - and it is His to vindicate and it is His to condemn. He alone knows the heart of mankind. We cannot even know our own hearts as they are deceitful beyond cure, Scripture tells us. Yet, He is the righteous Judge Who does no wrong and Whose works are perfect. Moses writes in Deuteronomy 32:4 (NIV): “He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.” Clinton Manley writes: “The triunity of God is the secret to all beauty. The triune God is the ocean of all goodness, the fount of all joy, the center of all life. The Trinity is where all beauty comes from.” When He is the desire and delight of our hearts we are blessed indeed.
Wait for the LORD and keep his way. He will exalt you to inherit the land; when the wicked are cut off, you will see it. Psalms 37:34 (NIV)