By Michael Kelley

Take delight in the Lord,

    and he will give you the desires of your heart (Psalm 37:4).

For most of us, this is an aspirational verse. Yes, we have had moments of excitement - even elatement - in the Lord, but is our general posture one of delighting in Him? Probably not. We would like it to be, but the reality is at least a little bit different.

It’s not that God is not “delightful” enough.

We know that He is, with all His power, creativity, love, grace, mercy, and everything else. He has brought us into His family, adopted us and given us an eternal inheritance in Jesus. He has ordered our steps with providential love and care. Surely there is more than enough for us to delight in.

So why don’t we?

What if the answer to that question - of why we fail to delight in the Lord - is incredibly simple? What if the main reason we fail to delight in the Lord is because we haven’t tried to do so? 

Maybe a little illustration to help.

My parents will tell you that until roughly the age of 18, I did not eat a vegetable unless it was slathered with cheese sauce or wrapped in bacon. I don’t think that’s particularly unusual, nor do i think it’s unusual that around that age I did indeed not only start eating veggies, but actually began to like them. Tastes change over time.

I have not always liked coffee. Now I’m on my second cup of the day as I write this.

I have not always like sushi. Now I like California rolls (I know I still have room for growth here).

I still don’t like curry, but my wife is hopeful there is still time.

What do all these things have in common? At least for me, they all began with a conscious choice. I chose to eat vegetables not because I delighted in them but because they were good for me. I chose to drink coffee not because I delighted in it but because I thought it was a drink adults should drink in the morning. I chose to eat sushi not because I delighted in it but because my family enjoyed it.

In all these instances, “delight” wasn’t the beginning; it was the end.

The choice preceded the delight. And what if the same thing is true about God? What if delight in the Lord is something you grow into, but that growth is begun by a series of choices?

If that’s true, then the beginning of delighting in the Lord is not an emotion, but rather making the conscious choice of communing with God. The beginning is a commitment to more time in His Word. More time in prayer. More time in reflective silence as you consider His promises. And, of course, the flipside is also true. That along with making those choices you believe will lead to delight, you also start to make choices to cease delighting in other things. 

And slowly, over time, delight is cultivated. It is grown. It is nurtured. Perhaps this is the way - that the longer we choose to delight in the Lord, the greater our delight will actually be. 

Michael Kelley is a husband, father of three, author, and speaker from Nashville, TN. His latest book is a year-long family devotional guide called The Whole Story for the Whole Family. Find his personal blog at michaelkelley.co.