Is He first the "Lord" ?

Psalm 37:4, “Delight yourself in the Lord; And He will give you the desires of your heart.”

Work, phone, binge-watching, ministry—any of these should do. But they don’t. Why does the call to ‘delight yourself in the Lord’ seem so distant in times of trouble?

What does it mean to put the Lord first? To truly put God first you have to let go of what others think and follow your heart. This means letting go of what your parents, spouse, kids, boss, and friends think. When you put God first, you give yourself a voice. You express yourself in a way that is true to you. You set boundaries and respect yourself.

Is God the first priority? You need to make God the center of your life. God should always be your top priority no matter what season or stage of life you are in. If you aren't sure what you have been prioritizing, take a look at your calendar or jot down how you've spending your time throughout the day.

When you’ve been a Christian for a long time, certain words and phrases have a tendency to settle into your vernacular, become commonplace, and lose their potency. Any well-versed believer is familiar with and has probably memorized, David’s beautiful invitation in Psalm 37:4, “Delight yourself in the Lord; And He will give you the desires of your heart.” But what does it mean to delight yourself in someone—especially ‘the Lord’?

We’ve all had those days. Circumstances go from bad to worse, creating an undercurrent of fear so strong that it tugs at your hope and threatens to pull you under. While you’re trying to stay afloat on God’s promises, guilt sets in. “Joy in the midst of trials is the mark of a true Christian,” you tell yourself. In enters doubt with all the what-ifs that make your burden heavier. You pray and put your trust in God. Now what? You need a distraction to ward off anxiety. Work, phone, binge-watching, ministry—any of these should do. But they don’t. Why does the call to ‘delight yourself in the Lord’ seem so distant in times of trouble?

What Does It Mean to 'Delight Yourself in the Lord'?

Think back to a specific moment in time when you freely enjoyed the company of a loved one. What made that moment special and memorable? Did you laugh or cry together—like good friends often do. Did you bond through the thrill of a shared experience? Did you boisterously celebrate a long-awaited victory together? Or perhaps you sat with each other in loving silence, grateful to know you didn’t have to carry a burden alone.

To experience deep, satisfying fellowship is a gift like no other. But that kind of connection doesn’t happen overnight. It’s silly to think you could find heartfelt delight with a stranger. The same is true when it comes to delighting ourselves in the Lord.

To delight ourselves in the Lord, we must first know Him. “but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight," declares the LORD” (Jeremiah 9:24).

God calls us to know Him for several reasons. First, He wants us to discover His many attributes that are so worthy of delight. He also desires a relationship with us. “He made us relational beings and we are made in His image. He too desires the time, discussion, and journey as our Father and Friend,” How Can Christians 'Delight' Themselves in the Lord?The third reason God calls us to press on to know Him (Hosea 6:3) is because the exercise of seeking Him is profoundly important to the nurture of our souls.

Our invitation to seek Him—to know Him—is one of a Christian’s most valuable privileges. And it’s also the secret to our delight in the Lord, especially during times of distress.

In another Psalm David declares, “One thing I ask from the LORD, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple” (Psalm 27:4).

What state of mind do you think David is in when he declares his one desire? Does this verse seem like it’s portraying a moment of praise for a victory won? It’s not. The prior verse gives us a glimpse at the setting: “Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then I will be confident” (Psalm 27:3).

David cries out to God for “one thing” while in the middle of a literal battle for life. He knows that this one thing, above all else, will help him overcome the agony of desperation. Why? What does David hope to gain from his request? The verses that follow reveal where David’s hope lies. “For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock. Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his sacred tent I will sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the LORD” (Psalm 27:5-6).

David knows that if He can be where God is, see Him in all His glory, and seek Him while He may be found that it will lead to safety, shelter, and the power to rise above the enemy’s schemes. In the refuge of God’s presence, David is given the ultimate weapon against hopelessness—the ability to delight himself in the Lord.

Christians have direct access into God’s presence, through the blood of Christ Jesus (John 14:6, John 19:9, Hebrews 10:19). But the cares of this world and complacency can blind us to that truth. That’s why it’s so important to seek Him. “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth” (Colossians 3:1-2).

When we turn our eyes away from this world and fix them on Jesus, our delight in the Lord is assured. God promises that when we seek Him with our whole heart, we will find Him. And when we find Him, His divine qualities, especially those that are manifest through Christ, will sweep us off our feet.

No amount of self-determination can ever produce a sincere delight in the Lord; it’s a byproduct of knowing Him. Isaiah 58 is a prime example of a time when God’s people tried to operate out of a man-made delight in the Lord. They failed—hard. Not because they didn’t check off all the right boxes, but because those boxes weren’t God’s priority at the time. They had lost touch with the source of their true delight.