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

Verse four here is actually one sentence, the admonition “Delight yourself” and the promise “He shall give you”, are intertwined for a purpose.

Delight, according to the dictionary is a great degree of pleasure or joy, enjoyment; rapture.

Delight yourself in the Lord, sounds pretty boring does it not? Seven days a week of church, rehashing sermons, memorizing the book of Numbers or Leviticus, you will not find a whole lot of joy here.

That is a worldly perspective you know, God is boring, what is to know? God sits in heaven and thinks of ways to make us miserable with rules and poverty and stuff like that.

This world has so much more to offer, you can get drunk and get into a car wreck and maim yourself, or you can see many new worlds with mind-altering drugs and fry your brain for life.

It gets even more exciting, you can have all the sex you want and die of some horrific venereal disease (STD), or get pregnant out of wedlock. Movie stars do this all the time. Of course, movie stars can afford a nanny, can you?

On the other hand, you can numb your mind by constantly escaping into computer games, movies and television, which are filled with all of these things, yet without consequences.

Well unless you consider the fact that the media is like a battering ram constantly pounding away at society’s moral compass, until everyone is so confused no one knows what to believe.

Now it is true that many things done in the right context are quite legitimate (such as sex within marriage).

But Satan, the serpent of old, and mankind’s sin nature are not about to let anyone get away with moderation or legitimacy.

If we cannot have all the illicit or doubtful activity we want it is said that we are repressed, and any repression is bad. The unrepressed individual can enjoy the now and partake of all the pleasures of life.

The onerous burden of sin will continue to pile up on this person until they have some sort of breakdown, or descend into the pit of alcoholism, drug abuse or other such dead end.

“Delight yourself also in the Lord…” Psalm 37:4a.

King David comes to mind here, not only is he the author of this Psalm, but he was described as a man after God’s own heart. How can this be said of him?

Nowhere is there recorded any act of David’s that might be seen as any form of idolatry, he has some real difficulties and does some awful things but he never strays far from God’s side.

Idolatry can be defined as anything that displaces God in your life, not just the worship of some foreign god, which is what comes to mind when we think of idolatry.

Pagan idolatry is the worship of a god which is actually energized by a demon.

“What am I saying then? That an idol is anything, or what is offered to idols is anything? Rather, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons.” 1 Corinthians 10:19-20.

The reality is that there is real power in the worship of these gods, but the price of this power is very great, the ensnaring and oppression of your own soul.

In ancient times the cost was often some secret, perverse rite involving child cult prostitutes, or other forms of depravity.

There was also human sacrifice, infant sacrifice, the killing of their children in the most cruel and painful way.

The abortion industry in American is little different from the ancients when it comes to the cruelties used in killing children today. And the methods employed come from the same demonic source.

Demons have the job of leading men and women astray from God, and they ply this trade with a malevolence that is unimaginable, men are cruel to each other without help, but when the demonic is involved the horror is beyond belief.

When someone opens the door to the occult, voodoo, or idolatry, the door is opened for the demonic to come in and put their follower into bondage. This bondage is equal to or worse than anything drugs or alcohol could ever do to destroy a life.

While in modern times the occult has been pushed back into the shadows, it has always been practiced in places like Africa the East and South America, and it is now being practiced openly in what could be called the civilized world.

When it comes to the occult, which also includes, fortune tellers, tarot cards, horoscopes and Ouija boards. If you value your life stay away from it.

“And when they say to you, ‘Seek those who are mediums and wizards, who whisper and mutter,’ should not a people seek their God? Should they seek the dead on behalf of the living? To the law and to the testimony [the Scriptures]! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them [they are false prophets].” Isaiah 8:19-20.

The modern civilized version of idolatry though is in some ways more seductive than the demonic form we have been discussing.

This form comes under the first definition shown earlier, that is, anything that displaces God in your life, this can be Christians letting things displace God in their lives, even non-Christians it makes no difference.

It is not my intention to pull the rug out from under anyone here, so read carefully before you make any decisions on this subject. How do you feel about, golf, football, racing, or tennis?

How do you feel about your career, your home, or your boat? You notice that these things are not just possessions, but intangible things too. If you are consumed by something, that is all you will think about.

Oh, it is true that some project at work or at home may take up all of someone’s time but when it is finished, they grab the golf clubs and head out or go to the game or whatever, this person will always return to their idol.

Now that is what is interesting about God, many Christians go to church, attend the potlucks and Bible studies and have a wonderful time. Then for some reason either work related or another they get out of circulation for a season.

And you know what, it is hard to go back to church; not when one can lounge around in their pajamas and read the Sunday paper, after all we work all week and deserve a little rest. That’s really what all this Sabbath stuff is about is it not?

Do you see the difference here? One man cannot wait to get back to his golf game and the other can’t seem to get back in the mood for church things. This is the heart of this form of idolatry, being consumed by this kind of passion.

I’ve even read of a man who collects all the Elvis Presley memorabilia he can lay his hands on, he even has a shrine to the King. He lives and breathes Elvis.

Now while it was not a personality cult, I’ve had this sort of idol in my life and I know how it feels to have a passion like this, and I have gained not one benefit from my idol, not one.

This is a really silly statement, but pay close attention, I wish God had been my idol all my life. If you have been chasing these vain desires for years you know how strong this statement is.

God was David’s idol; I just cannot use any stronger words than these. Please understand that when I say God was David’s idol I mean that the true and living God was the main focus in David’s life. He meditated on God’s word day and night, prayed to Him, and loved Him first and foremost.

“…we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other God but one.” 1 Corinthians 8:4b.

Before going on I want to make sure that you know that there is nothing wrong with sports or golf or owning a home if it never takes hold of you. Enjoy the game, skiing, billiards, or whatever it is you find relaxing or enjoyable.

But if you have all the stats memorized along with all the players and their records, you need to evaluate whether you have made a god out of this or not, because you will never delight yourself in the Lord if something else is sitting on the throne of your heart.

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21.

“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon [riches].” Matthew 6:24.

David delighted in the Lord for many reasons; one reason was that he had a relationship with the God of the universe, the infinite creator of everything.

Satan would have us believe that this is death by boredom. Nothing could be further from the truth. Do you ask yourself about the nature of things that you see around you; a flower perhaps, or the birds, what is the mystery of life?

Godless people think of these things all the time. And they have come up with some fanciful theories about the origin of life and the nature of things. But the Scriptures say of them that they are ever learning and never coming to the knowledge of the truth.

“But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase [which it has explosively].” Daniel 12:4.

“… [men will be] always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” 2 Timothy 3:7.

According to Tim LaHaye in his book “The Beginning of the End”, it is estimated that from the time of the flood of Noah (about 5,000 years ago) until 1800 A.D. knowledge had only doubled once.

By 1900, a hundred years later, it had doubled again, as of the print date of the book (1972) scientists had estimated that knowledge would double every 10 to 15 years. Today, their estimate is not even close to the current rate of doubling.

Christians do not need to come up with fantastic theories to explain the origin of the cosmos, God created everything.

With such knowledge we need not waste our time on meaningless speculation and can concentrate on discovering how things work. Knowing full well that we can rely on laws that God has put in place to govern things.

Moreover, we can look at God and see that if He created things around us that we cannot understand how much deeper must be the Creator.

“The heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours; the world and all its fullness, You have founded them. The north and the south, You have created them; Tabor and Hermon [mountains in Israel] rejoice in Your name. You have a mighty arm; strong is Your hand, and high is Your right hand. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; mercy and truth go before Your face.” Psalm 89:11-14.

If you like jigsaw puzzles or crossword puzzles, or mystery novels, why wouldn’t an infinite, measureless, boundless God make you curious?

“But as it is written: ‘Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.’ But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.” 1 Corinthians 2:9-10.

Justice, God is Faithful, Part 1 taken from godisrevealed.com posted on 7-16-15, updated on 9-12-24 ck.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version, copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission, all rights reserved.