Photo by: Tom Blackwell

When are we really happy? What do we thoroughly enjoy doing? Under what conditions are we tempted  to say, “this is heaven”.

I ask because I’ve been thinking about what David said about “Delighting in the LORD.” In the 37^th Psalm he said, “Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart?” (Psalm 37:4).

Want to be careful, because  troubled, unhealthy, and unstable people are sometimes recognized by having a smile on their face either all the time, or at the most inappropriate moments.

Maybe that’s one reason I’m intrigued with what he says about “delighting ourselves in the LORD”. David knew how to be sad, how to cry, and how to be angry. His songs are full of all kinds of bad days and real emotion. He doesn’t seem to be a mugshot with a smile kind of person.

So when I hear him say, “Delight yourselves in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart,” I’m quite sure that he is not asking us to not feel our losses or to stop being realistic about what’s happening to us… and those we love.

Yet he begins this song saying, don’t worry about bad people, don’t envy those who do wrong.

If David could stop by our house today, or if we could spend our noon or work break with him… if we had a chance to tell him what it is that is weighing us down, do you think he would still say, “Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart?” Would he have to admit that in our situation, this advice really isn’t what we need to hear? Or would he say, something like, “You know what, I wrote this for people who were facing something similar…”

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