Delighting in God
JOEL ENGLE

It is amazing to see how far people will go to find fulfillment in life. Whether it is in pleasure, relationships or achievement, every human being has a desire to matter in the spectrum of the world. As I was reading an article by pastor/author John Piper, I came across a quote he had mentioned from the famous scientist and philosopher Blaise Pascal. "All men seek happiness; this is without exception. Whatever different means they employ, they all tend to this end. The cause of some going to war, and of others avoiding it, is the same desire in both, attended with different views. The will never takes the least step but to this object. This is the motive of every action of every man, even of those who hang themselves."

You desire happiness. I desire happiness. Fulfillment. Purpose. Satisfaction. Pleasure. Joy. There are many ways and words that can be used to describe happiness but there is only one way to find it. This truth must be the undertow of every worship leader’s philosophy of ministry. Psalm 37:4 says, "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." By an outward observation one might think the world longs for only 3 things: money, sex and power. Yet ultimately those are just symptoms of the core issue at hand.

I am amazed by the story of John Walker Lindh also known as the American Taliban. Growing up in Maryland and then moving to "hot tub" country in Northern California, John, age 11, lived in an affluent neighborhood in Marin County. This area is known as one of the most morally liberal areas in the United States. Raised by a nominal Catholic father and Buddhist mother, Lindh rejected his parents’ religious views along with their blessings. In his late childhood, he became fascinated with hip-hop culture and embraced it as his own way of life. He even masqueraded as an African-American on hip-hop Internet chat lines. John Walker Lindh was searching for an identity he could not find.

At age 14, while searching on the Internet, John Walker Lindh discovered Islam. Here is a desperate quote from this troubled and disillusioned young man while conversing with a friend about this new religion by email. "I have never seen happiness myself, perhaps you can enlighten me to where I can get a sneak peak at it." By age 16, his parents had divorced. Soon he converted to the Muslim faith and changed his name to Sulleyman and began to dress in Islamic wardrobe. Soon after the demise of his parents’ relationship he traveled to Yemen to study Islam. There he believed that Islam existed in its purest form.

Once again his most genuine hope for happiness failed and he flew home to the U.S from Yemen unhappy and disillusioned. Back in California, John began to visit mosque after mosque to find the way to personal satisfaction. He made a connection with a Muslim "evangelist" from Pakistan. Somehow Lindh made it to Afghanistan and wound up being recruited by the most infamous terrorist organization in history, the Al-Queda network that was responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States. Joining the Taliban regime, he fought against his own countrymen. He was captured, imprisoned and now at the time of this writing is being held for treason. His 20-year-old life hangs in the balance.

Every time I think about John Walker Lindh, I think about the extreme measures this man went through to find happiness, only to find misery. He foolishly sacrificed his family, country, comfort, and freedom to somehow find satisfaction for his empty heart.

"Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." There is only one God who can delight the human heart completely. The Hebrew word used for delight means enjoyment. You could almost say "Enjoy yourself in the Lord…" One of the phrases in the Westminster Confession that I think is so amazing is "the chief end of man is to glorify the Lord and ENJOY Him forever." When I lead praise and worship, my goal is to somehow push the audience to understand the significance of delighting ourselves in the Lord as our life’s goal. Notice the preposition in Ps 37:4 "Delight yourself IN the Lord." This is a very important two-letter word. The Psalmist did not use "from" or "with" or "by" but He used the word "in". Why? Because the act of delighting one’s self IN God is personal and intimate. The mere execution of religious activity will never replace the one on one relationship that the Christian can have in God through the person of Jesus Christ. True delight is diving headfirst into a dynamic and passionate experience with the God of the universe. ONLY WHEN WE REALIZE THAT HAPPINESS COMES FROM TOTALLY IMMERSING OURSELVES IN GOD WILL WE EVER FIND FULLFILMENT.

The opposite of Psalm 37:4 could go something like this; "Deprive yourself of the Lord and you will be miserable and unhappy." We can look at John Walker Lindh and see the results of a life that has been deprived of a personal encounter with God. Yet why are so many Christians and ministers depressed and defeated? What makes the difference in the effectiveness of our ministry? Why do we sit and compare our ministry with others who seem to be more "successful" than we are while we wallow in self-pity? Could it be that we have been depriving ourselves from the wonderful pursuit of delighting ourselves in the Bread of Life? How can we ever be effective in the ministry of delight when we deprive ourselves daily?

Even now in this moment enjoy the God of the heavens and the earth. Call out to Him. Run to Him. You won’t have to cross the oceans to do it either. His presence is readily available to you now! Get ready to experience the joy above all joys in this world.