"Delight in Me, and I Will Give You the Desires of Your Heart," Jesus

Our lives are fulfilled as we love others. God made you to be incomplete without Him and people in your life. You are wired to love and to be loved. And God has specific works – acts of love and righteousness prepared and waiting for you to do.

As we delight in God, He shares with us His deepest desires and we have the privilege of pursuing His desires as part of His family working to save people from Satan, sin, and death and establish God’s Kingdom “on earth as in heaven.”

God Places Desires in You so You Will Go to Him to be Fulfilled

Philippians 2:13 (NLT)
For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.
God will create the desire and the ability to do His will.

Psalm 37:4 (NIV)
Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.   
As you receive God’s love, you will enjoy just being with Him. And He, being the good Father that He is, will give you what you desire most. And you will be fulfilled.

Proverbs 13:12 (NASB)
…desire fulfilled is a tree of life. 


Activation: Make a Delight/Desire Journal

The key to meeting Jesus in scripture is responding to the Bible with your heart, not just your mind. This should take ten to fifteen minutes at most. 

1. Write these headings on a page or in a writing app:
Today’s Date:
Delight:
Desire:
About 12 years ago the Lord showed me this format for meeting Him in scripture – connecting with my heart, not just my mind. I use this format for my Delight/Desire time with God every morning. 
 
2. Read Psalm 23 in a translation you usually don’t read. I’ve found reading different translations is a great way to have scripture become fresh and new. (I recommend The Passion Translation or the New Living Translation. You will find them on Bible.com.) 

Read slowly thinking about what you are reading. 
Read until you see something that makes your heart jump – a strong, positive, emotional response to a word, phrase or verse. 

3. Write down what you “delight” about that word, phrase or verse. Just write what you feel and what that means to you.

4. What desire does that word, phrase or verse trigger in you? Think about it. Write it down. Follow it. What about that do you want in your life? 

Scripture makes us hungry for more of Jesus. Respond with your heart – your desires. All actions begin with desires. All change begins with a change of heart. This is how Jesus reaches us. This is how He changes us. We change what we do when we change what we want. 
Matthew 6:21 TPT
For your heart will always pursue what you value as your treasure.

My Response
Delight: 
Yahweh is my best friend and my shepherd. 
I always have more than enough.
Psalm 23:1 Passion Translation


“Best friend” jumped out at me. What an amazing thought. I loved that! But where did that come from?  I read the translator’s note. The Hebrew word for Shepherd is from the root word ra’ah, which is also the Hebrew word for “best friend.” 

Desire: As I read that, a deep desire to really live with Jesus as my “best friend” welled up within me. Can you imagine what that would be like? 

 I’ve always wanted to be like John, who wasn’t just one of the twelve with Jesus. John was the one laying his head on Jesus’ chest. Peter, James, and John were Jesus’ inner circle. I want to be that close. 

Then I realized. That’s what He wants too. 
John 15:15 CEB
I don’t call you servants any longer, because servants don’t know what their master is doing. Instead, I call you friends, because everything I heard from my Father I have made known to you.

Okay, your turn.  Do the Activation. Please share your experiences in the comments to this video. THANKS!!