Delight in the Lord

“Do not fret because of evil men, or be envious of those who do wrong; for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away. Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land, and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37

Fretting, or any kind of anxiety, is very bad for you. We all do it, though! As the psalmist says, fretting is a waste of energy. It does not change your circumstances in any way. What fretting does is use up our energy in worry, when we could be expending that energy on more useful or pleasurable activities.
Fretting, at its core, is turning away from God, from not letting go of our concerns and trusting in His greater purpose.
But in this Psalm we are also given a practical way to combat the tendency to fret. To “Delight yourself in the Lord”. To be immersed in our faith and remind ourselves how much we are loved and valued.
How can we remember how to grow in our “DELIGHT”? Here is a suggestion:
D – Devote our minds and hearts to God. Constantly renew our purpose through worship and prayer.
E – Encourage each other. We are not alone. Christians are the family of God, there to support one another, through the good and the bad.
L – Love. Love. Love. And then love some more. You can never lover others as much as God loves you – but you can do your best.
I – Inspire others with your actions. Deeds speak louder than words. Be the good you want to see in the world.
G – Be Grateful. There are blessings wherever you look. And even our troubles are often there to teach us. Say thank you to God, every day!
H – Honour your heavenly Father. Obey His commands. He gave His only son for us; to Heal this world. We owe Him praise and devotion.
T – Trust in God’s Promises. He is working His purpose out, and we cannot comprehend what the future may hold.

When you come to understand how wonderfully uplifting it is to Delight in the Lord, to stop fretting, to rest all your burdens and fears and simply live in trust and faith, then every challenge or worry we face becomes an opportunity to have a conversation with God and grow closer to Him. And this is His one desire.
Stop fretting, and delight in the Lord.
AMEN