This devotional clip was written by David Bowden author of When God Isn’t There. You can read more of this devotional through YouVersion titled Rewire Your Heart (I have inserted a few thoughts as well throughout this devotional; they are italicized in brackets).
When times get really hard it becomes so much easier to sin. (The temptations seem to pull stronger, the lure more frequent.) Psalm 37 is about how to persevere during a really hard time.
The Psalmist, David, writes that wicked people are doing terrible things. How should David and the people respond? David says we should respond with stillness, patience, and faith.
- But how is that even possible?
- How can we just sit there and take it?
- How can we be still when everything is swirling around us?
- How can we be patient when everything is going wrong?
- How can we have faith when all hope seems to be lost?
(God has filled the pages of Scripture for us to see, learn, taste in the goodness of Him in the land of the living (Psalm 27), but for today we will only look into one powerful verse. Psalm 37:4 is one of the most beautiful, helpful, and we encouraging passages I know.)
“Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”
This verse is so helpful for two main reasons.
1) Perseverance and fighting sin don’t have to be a sad affair. We are called to find delight! But where are we to find this delight in such bleak circumstances? We can’t find them in our surroundings. We can’t find them just by looking on the bright side.
We find (true, real) delight in the LORD…when we delight ourselves in Him.
For us as Christians, (one of) the best ways to do this is by repeating (remembering) the Good News of the Gospel to yourself. Jesus has saved you from sin and death (don’t even forget that). He has taken your punishment…(your rightful place on that cross.) You have been reconciled to the Father (forgiven of it all, justified, redeemed). You’ve been made a temple of the living God (an heir). Delight yourself in all God has done for you (praise Him)!
2) The second reason this verse is so helpful is because we get something (isn’t God so good, not only does He forgive us, cleanse us, make us His child, He also lavishes upon us good things). Not only do we not have to be sad, but…we get the desires of our hearts.
What are these desires in our hearts that we will be given in times of trouble? Well, it is the very thing we have been delighting in.
We will get God!
- No matter the circumstance.
- No matter the sin.
- If you delight yourself in the God of the Gospel you will get the God of the Gospel.
- Revel in Jesus.
- Jesus will reveal himself to you.
That is how you fight sin in difficult times. Engage your heart in the fight. Delight yourself in God.
There are so many more verses in Scripture that we could comb through today, but this devotional has been such a good reminder that…
- We are not defeated for we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us so (Romans 8:37).
- God is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).
- When we draw near to God, He will draw near to us (James 4:8).
Engage your heart in the fight. Delight yourself in God…He delights in you!
In Christ I am SHE {Saved. Hopeful. Empowered.}
In Christ I am SHE 