“Lord, Beke Nemen…”

(rough translation, “Lord, Could You…?”)

Written by Jannine Ygrubay

April 25, 2022

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

Are you familiar with this verse? Oftentimes we see this in our social media or being said as an encouragement to other people when they are experiencing an unpleasant situation or when they are in their waiting season. Palagi nga eh na ang comment, “Amen!”  or a very energetic “Yes Lord! I claim this!”. But what does it really mean? Does this mean that everything that our hearts desire, God will give to us as long as we are delighting in God?

Finding our delight in the Lord includes really getting to know Him deeper.

Well, it is a “yes” and a “no.” What do I mean? If we look deeper into the verse it is telling us to ‘delight yourself in the Lord’. It means that we should be able to have the Lord as the focus of our delight. If we are only doing things seemingly to get the approval of God so that we’ll be able to get the things that we want, that is not delighting in the Lord. Finding our delight in the Lord includes really getting to know Him deeper. It’s like getting to know another person, you take the time to know what the person’s hobbies are, what he/she wants to eat etcetera and then somehow finding something that interests you both. Then, once you find that common denominator, you start to enjoy that person’s presence. The same goes with the Lord, it is so impossible to not spend time with God and not discover that this is actually what your soul needs. Spending time with the One who truly loves you and cares for you will fill your love tank so much that you’ll just want to be in His presence always. 

And then, there’s the second part of the verse, ‘He will give you the desires of your heart.’ What does that mean? Ever heard the phrase, ‘tell me who your friends are and I’ll tell you who you are’? When we are always with another person or with a group of friends, we tend to absorb not only their interests but also their wants and interests. I remember before I only watched western tv shows because that is what i grew up with. But when I entered college, the group of friends that I had watched kdrama and were kpop fans. At first, I was not interested at all but they would often talk about it during lunch breaks and as we go home. I got curious and started to watch with them, and then the rest is history. Now, I am the one recommending kdramas to watch and introduce kpop groups to my other friends. My point is this: as you grow closer and closer to the Lord, your desires will also change. You will learn to love what He loves, and His desires will be your desires. It will go as far as even the things that will break His heart, will also break your heart because you are in a close relationship with the Lord. 

Hindi ba parang ang controlling naman ni Lord? Hindi pwede na magustuhan ko yung mga bagay na hindi Niya gusto?” Well, why would we want something that God doesn’t want for us? The problem with us humans is we think we know what we need and that’s why we want those things. But we have to remind ourselves that our perspective is limited. We can only see what is given so we assume and decide based on this. Is it not more safe to trust Someone who already knows the past, present and future in its entirety? God loves us and His love protects. He wouldn’t allow anything or anyone to truly harm us. The greatest thing we can do for ourselves is to let the Lord love us His way. 

How can we apply all these things? Firstly, we have to make sure that we are really understanding what the Scriptures say. As humans, we have the tendency to read through the Scriptures with an interpretation already in our minds or assume what God is saying based on what we want to hear., Then we feel bad or sometimes question God when we don’t experience what He said in His Word. Let’s truly study it, use study tools to better understand its context and even seek out the help of the godly people in our lives. And of course, a really crucial factor in understanding the Scriptures is the Holy Spirit. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you wisdom and guidance so you will properly understand what He is saying to you. Second, make it a habit to read the Bible. The more you do it, the more it will become a habit. Another tip, don’t rely on your motivation to read the Bible. Read it even if you are not motivated to do it, feelings will follow. Come to think of it, you still need to eat even if you are not hungry because your body needs it, it has the same principle. Finally, apply what you learned. Oftentimes in the Bible, faith is needed for us to experience His promises. If you will not jump, you’ll never learn that God can carry you in His wings. Minsan nga, tayo pa mismo ang pumipigil sa mga sarili natin para maexperience ng buo si Lord. Why? Because we are not obeying what He wants us to do, we don’t trust Him enough in the ‘question marks’ in our lives.

Delighting in the Lord may seem like we are losing ourselves. Let’s remember that we are not losing when we are with God. He knows what we need and when our desires align with His, He agrees to give it to us because it is indeed what is good for us.

trust Someone who already knows the past, present and future in its entirety

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