I will attempt to share how we can delight God’s heart. We often think about delighting ourselves in the Lord.
“Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord, trust also in Him, and He will do it.” ~Psalm 37:3-5 NASB
Yet, we rarely consider delighting God’s heart, and we rarely attempt to delight His heart. In reading through the Scriptures, I began to notice verses about God’s heart and what delighted Him. As I considered what He says makes Him happy, I attempted to delight His heart each day. I pray you will attempt to delight His heart by responding to His Words of delight.
Delight God’s Heart
In an attempt to understand how God delights in us, we will look at His Word.
God Delights
God delights in those who fear Him, those who wait for His lovingkindness (Ps. 147:10-11).
We fear Him and wait for His lovingkindness.
God daily delights in wisdom (Pr. 8:30-31).
We seek wisdom daily.
God delights in a just weight (Pr. 11:1).
We walk in justice and administer with just balances.
God delights in the blameless and their walk (Pr. 11:20).
We walk blamelessly before the Lord.
God delights in those who deal faithfully (with their lips) (Pr. 12:22).
We are faithful in our words and all our dealings.
God delights in the prayer of the upright (Pr. 15:8).
We walk uprightly before the Lord and before men.
God delights in the fear of the Lord (Is. 11:3).
We are men and women who fear the Lord.
God delights in those who exercise lovingkindness, justice, and righteousness on the earth (Jer. 9:24)
We exercise Your lovingkindness, Your justice, and Your righteousness.
God delights in loyalty (Hosea 6:6).
We are loyal.
God delights in unchanging love (Micah 7:18).
We have always loved the Lord,
We are loving the Lord,
And we will continue to love the Lord all the days of our lives.
I hope you will accept the challenge and call to delight His heart as His Beloved.
Prayer
Lord, we desire to delight Your heart by waiting for Your lovingkindness, walking blameless and upright before You, seeking Your wisdom daily, administering justice, exercising righteousness, being loyal, dealing faithfully with our lips, and walking in Your love. We set our heart to seek You, Lord, and to delight Your heart today. Amen.
Recommendations
Opinions of the Wise or the Ways of the Foolish – Strength with Dignity
Astonishing and Epic Beauty Makes for Tremendous Praise – Strength with Dignity
References
New American Standard Bible 1995 (NASB 1995), copyright 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.
Bible Gateway Blogger Grid Member #bgbg2 #BibleGateway
Every Friday, I join an online Christian writing community, Five Minute Friday. The one-word prompt this week is attempt. This was my attempt to encourage others to consider God’s heart, seek to delight His heart by studying His Word and understanding what delights Him, and then be faithful to act on it.
17 thoughts on “Will You Attempt the Challenge to Delight God’s Heart?”
How can I delight the Lord?
How, someone so poor as me?
I mean, look, I can’t afford
even the cheapest Ferrari!
Can’t travel to the Holy Land
even with more vacay time,
and my church is really bland
with a choir that has stopped tryin’.
So what, could the Big Guy need
from a dude sans wealth or fame?
Could it be, did His Son bleed
for a man without a name
who could only play his part
in the surrender of his heart?
Like the little drummer boy who brings His song, we bring our heart in surrender to Him, Andrew.
Lisa, I love your comprehensive study of what delights God. Thank you for challenging us to make more intentional choices which please our Heavenly Father!
It’s a joy to delight in Him, Donna!
I love the idea that we can bring joy to the heart of God. How generous of him to care for us so deeply!
It is very generous of Him, Michele!
I fall so short, but He knows the intents of our hearts, so maybe even my feeble attempts bring Him joy,
He delights in you, Sandra!
In the proverbs 15 passage I think you missed the point that God delights in the prayers of the upright not just that we be upright people but that we be upright people who pray. And perhaps you assumed that or mentioned that God delights in his people talking with him (prayer) in other verses. I love how you point it out all the ways that we can delight the Lord. It’s like asking yourself how can I make God smile today? 🙂
Thanks, Annette! Yes, it is a worthy goal to try and bring God a smile each day.
Lisa, I love how you shared the many ways we can delight the Lord through heart attitudes and actions! Your examples reminded me that we can delight God when our heart seeks to emulate His. Very practical post!
Delighting in the Lord is a heart choice that is then expressed in our actions, Jeanne.
This is a beautiful post, Lisa. We often think about delighting in God, but this is a practical post which shows us how to live rightly and make choices so our lives become a delight to Him.
It is wonderful to think about delighting His heart, Joanne!
Lisa,
I love this perspective. We can delight God when we obey Him. How wonderful and beautiful this is.
It is wonderful to think about delighting His heart, Deborah!
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