Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4
“God knows us so well. In His infinite wisdom He knew that even noble, believing humans would attempt to use Him as a means of getting ahead. Our motive for seeking God is often self-centered. Ideally, He enjoys being sought for the pleasure of His presence. He then delights in allowing the seeker to discover wonderful gains, but, because He knows us so well, He has methods for making the most of our sometimes questionable motives. He allows our greed to lead us on a treasure hunt where we ultimately discover the greatest treasure of all…
We begin to question, “How can I delight myself in the Lord?” We can almost hear Him whisper, “I’m so glad you asked.” As we make ourselves available to delight in God, He slowly revolutionizes our approach to finding fulfillment. those who seek to delight in the Lord will ultimately develop a delightful relationship with Him; however, by the time God makes Himself the seeker’s delight, the once self-seeking treasure hunter has been transformed.”
Beth Moore in “Day Nineteen” of Whispers of Hope: Ten Weeks of Devotional Prayer (Nashville: B & H, 2013).
I love the game of Major League Baseball. When I was growing up, my dream for my life was to be a season ticket holder. Call me crazy but that was one of my aspirations. I remember the day I chose to follow God’s calling into ministry. I thought to myself, “I am willing to give up that dream, Lord.” And I did. The more I “delighted myself in the Lord” the less precious baseball was to me.
Years later I got something from God I never dreamed: access to World Series. The irony is that came to me from my ministry in the life of the (now deceased) founder of the Colorado Rockies. It was like God winked at me and said, “I am enjoying your presence, Gary, now go enjoy a game.”
Long story short. Jesus is my greatest treasure, and because He is a hilariously generous Giver, He gives me gifts to enjoy and share. Yet again, I’ve had the privilege of sharing World Series tickets this year and tonight I will go to my 18th World Series game. I don’t go if I have already been to see the team in their home ballpark, so I gave my Kansas City tickets away this year, but I can’t wait to see the Fall Classic at Mets ballpark tonight.