Delight in the Lord

“ Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge. I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.”  As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight.” (Psalm 16:1-2 ESV)

In verse one, David says to the Lord, "God keep me, preserve me, save me, hold me, never leave me." To David, God is everything. I wonder if you pray that way. Do you express the depth of your need, want, and desire for God daily, with every breath? If you do not pray that way, there is a problem with your thought process.

Our prayers to God are not just a routine but a vital part of our communion with Him. It is our time to express our deep need for Him, to worship Him, and to glorify Him. This is the essence of what David speaks; it should be how we see God ourselves. God should be the center of our lives, and we should profoundly understand that we cannot go a single day without Him. We cannot do it alone. It is the grace of God that sustains us as believers. Without His grace, we would be nothing.

In verse two, David says, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.” God governs, disperses, or manages all the good in our lives. Without God, there is no good in or for us. David recognized this, did you? So, God manages and is all the good that comes to us.

Yes, we have other authorities in our lives that we must reconcile, but God is the ultimate authority over our lives. Every other legitimate authority in our lives derives its authority from God. Christ spoke this to Pilate when He said, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above.” Once we recognize this aspect of our lives, the hierarchy of our responsibilities in life is made crystal clear, providing us with a sense of security and guidance.

David also tells God that all the goodness in his life comes from God. Yes, we have other good things in our lives, our relationships, our children, and many other things, but if we cannot taste God in the good things of this world, they are not good at all. They are false goods that will lead us astray. This warning should make us cautious and discerning in our pursuit of worldly goods, fostering a sense of wisdom and thoughtfulness in our actions.

This brings us to verse three, “As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight.” How can this be if God is all the good? Like David, when we tell God that He alone is our greatest good, the things we also delight in become secondary. David is telling God, I delight in the saints; they are all my delight, but you, God, bring these delights to me. I am not being idolatrous in delighting in the saints because you have made them what they are. Because you have made them saints, You are the root of my delight.

You love your wife, children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and so on. You delight in them, and they bring you much joy and love. They are God’s, and they were given to you by God. In loving them, you are loving what is God’s and God for giving them to you. This realization should fill us with a sense of gratitude and appreciation for the joy and love that God's gifts bring into our lives.  

When we view the delights in our lives with this understanding, we align with where our ultimate love and devotion come from. Yes, our grandchildren mean the world to us, but God made and gave us that world, and He alone tops the list of goodness in our lives. So, having something or someone who we delight in is not a contradiction of verse two.

When we are with those who delight in the Lord, we delight in them because they delight in God. God is most glorified when we are completely satisfied with Him, and He is our center of love and goodness.

David's search was over. He found all the good and delight he needed in his life in the Lord. Are you still searching? Are you still seeking the ultimate delight in your life? Make your life about Jesus, and you will find what David found. Pray like David and glorify God by expressing and acknowledging that He alone is your Lord and all the goodness in your life. By doing so, you are glorifying God at the highest level.

Peace and Grace.