Psalm 37:4
Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

The desires of thine heart. . . . Sometimes our hearts desire is not a wonderful thing.  It could be something that brings us grief,  sorrow,  troubles and pain.

We love to think of getting the desires of our hearts,  but we neclect to delight ourselves in the Lord;  and that my friend is our down fall.

Has our desire grown into lust?   Do we want something so badly that God will give us this desire,  even if it is hurtfull?   I have always concidered lust to be a sexual thing.

Mt 5:28
“Whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.”

We lust after many things,  not just sex.

While wondering in the desert the Hebrews desired,  (lusted after meat),  not appreciating the miracle of manna.

Psalm 78:29b, 31
“He gave them their own desire;” 31 “The wrath of God came upon them.”

Psalm 81:13
“So I gave them up unto their own hearts’ lust: and they walked in their own counsels.”

Ps 106:15
“He gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul.”

Lust,  (desires for that, which are not ours),  leads to trouble.   The wrath of God,  leaness to our souls, to walking without the Lord.    (wandering around lost).

From the parable of the sower:

Mk 4:19
“The cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.”

The word will not grow in us,  if our concerns are located elsewhere.  We need the Lord to be our primary desire.  

Paul speaks plainly in Romans.

Romans 1:24, 26, 28
“God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:” 26 “For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections:”  28 “they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;”

We see the results of a world that has rejected the truth of the Word.  We must  resist and reject the worlds ways.  All sorts of sin is accepted by society,  lying,  stealing,  adultery,  homosexuality.  (And that’s just in congress).

Romans 6:12; 13:14
“Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.”
Ro 13
14 “But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.”

Gal 5:16-17
“Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.  For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.”

Gal 5:24-25
“And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.    If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”

Our problems stem from not really giving our all to Jesus,  we hold onto our favorite sins,  this leads only to destruction.  

There are 53 verses in the Bible that talk of LUST.  I tend to want to give all of them to bolster my case.  I will try to not do that today.

I will mention this one though.

James 1:13-15
King James Version (KJV)
“Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:  But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.  Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.”

Our individual lusts,  whether sex,  money, pride. . . . If it isn’t a desire given by God,  only leads to destruction.

We must refrain from foolish conversations, know how to present our bodies a living sacrifice,  become sanctified,  set apart for God. 

To learn to be content with where the Lord has us,  (this is hard for me),  knowing we are there for a reason and a season.

1 John 2:16-17
King James Version (KJV)
“For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.  And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.”

Whatever you lust after,  (desire),  prove to yourself,  that it is a Godly desire,  a desire you received from God as you have delighted in Him.

What does it mean to delight in the Lord?   To delight in the Lord means blessings.

Isaiah 58:14
“Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.”

Psalm 112:1
“Praise ye the Lord. Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord, that delighteth greatly in his commandments.”

Psalm 1:2
“But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.”

1 Samuel 15:22
“And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.”

What does it mean to delight in the Lord?

Know and obey His Law and Commandments. . . . I know Jesus set us free from the law of sin and death.  

BUT KNOW THIS:  WE SERVE A HOLY,  PERFECT,  LOVING GOD. 

It is our responcibility to walk in the light, to know the  Holy,  Acceptable and Perfect will of the Father.

To delight in the Lord,  is to be a delight to Him,  blessings flow from the Father of lights.   Do not bury them,  learn to use and walk in the Power of the Holy Spirit.   For only then will we see the Work of God going forth.

Then will our churches be full and the Spirit will draw all men unto Jesus the Author and finisher of our faith.