So in looking at the getting back to the basics and more specifically the basic of what it means to be a Christian we saw that first we are saved by grace, then last time we saw how as a Christian our focus will change from other stuff, including ourselves and our family, to being focused solely on God. Well with a change in our focus eventually our lives will change. One verse that comes to mind is Psalms 37:4, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” So now let’s take apart this verse and see what I mean by it leading us to a changed life.
Delight Yourself In The Lord
The first thing the psalmist mentions in this verse is that we are to delight ourselves in the Lord. You see this is where that change in focus comes in. When we start looking towards Christ and making Him our all, our one and only desire is where the changed life comes from. Jesus states in Luke 14 that one must hate his family in order to be His disciple, this means that there is nothing else in our life that takes our attention from God. So you see when we are focused on God we look to Him for everything. When times are good we look to God in gratitude, when times are bad we look to God for sustenance; no matter what the situation we are to look to God as He should be our All in All.
The Desires Of Your Heart
So what happens as our focus shifts from us and onto God? Well according to this verse we are given the desires of our hearts. So what are the desires of our heart? What exactly is it that God is giving us as we delight in Him? Will he give us all the things we want? Things such as money, fame, material things? No I don’t think that it is quite that simple. You see what I believe God is giving us is not those things that we want, the things that we desire; but rather God is actually changing our desires, He is actually giving us His desires. You see as we are walking in God’s will, focusing on Him we start to desire the things that God desires.
So what do these desires look like? James puts it like this, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” Then Micah states it as such, “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” You see the desires God gives us is that we are focused on serving others rather than ourselves. You see the Christian life is a progression, we are saved which leads to a change in our focus; that change in focus then leads to a change in our life. As Christians we are called to “be holy as God is holy.” Yet while we know it is an unattainable goal, it is still a goal that we should strive towards; or as I have heard it put we are not sinless, but every day we should sin less.
