This is the conclusion of my last post.

 Desires Come on the Heels of Delight

“Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He will give you the desires and secret petitions of your heart” (Psalms 37:4 The Amplified Bible).

This verse gives keen insight into committing your way to the Lord.  Here, you discover that as you delight yourself in the Lord, He will give you the desires of your heart.  That’s an awesome promise if you desire to attain a higher level of health and fitness!

Now let’s find out what it means to “delight in” the Lord.  We’ll begin by looking at the 1828 Webster’s dictionary definition which says to delight in means to “take great pleasure; rejoice.” 

We learn from this that you delight in the Lord by taking great pleasure in Him.  For instance, by remembering who He is and what He has done– you are delighting in Him.  You rejoice in Him by thinking, praising and worshiping Him.  You can rejoice in the fact that He loves you, that He is faithful, just and kind.  You can delight in Him by remembering all the times He answered your prayers and helped you.  You can delight in the fact you are saved; that you will spend eternity in heaven with Jesus; that the Holy Spirit dwells within you. 

You get the picture, I’m sure.

Now, what do you think will happen if you do this? 

Well, for one thing, you will please Him!  That’s important.  Also, your faith will be ignited as you remember how wonderful and faithful He is.  Before you know it, you will find yourself smack dab in the middle of  His presence, and “where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty (emancipation from bondage, freedom)” (2 Corinthians 3:17, The Amplified Bible).  As you spend time in His presence, you can be set free from bondage to poor eating habits and/or a sedentary lifestyle.  You’ll find yourself strengthened by the Spirit of God, because God’s presence and His Word have the power to change you.

By praising Him for what He has done and worshiping Him for who He is– you delight yourself in Him!  And when you do that consistently, you can be sure “He will give you the desires and secret petitions of your heart.”

Why?  Because when your heart is vitally connected to His, your desires will be in line with His desires.  You’ll be asking for those things He wants to give you!  And I’ll let you in on a little secret… He desires for you to be healthy and fit.  First Corinthians  6:19-20 says in this way:

Do you not know that your body is the temple (the very sanctuary) of the Holy Spirit Who lives within you, Whom you have received [as a Gift] from God?  You are not your own, You were bought with a price [purchased with a preciousness and paid for, made  His own].  So then, honor God and bring glory to Him in your body (The Amplified Bible). 

I think this Scripture beautifully sums up one of the main reasons God is in favor of your success in your health and fitness goals—you are to honor and bring glory to God in your body.  As you delight yourself in the Lord, He will give you the desires of your heart.

 Commitment Is the Way

“Commit your way to Lord [roll and repose each care of your load on Him]; trust (lean on, rely on, and be confident) also in Him and he will bring it to pass” (Psalms 37:5, The Amplified Bible). 

Now can you understand how trusting and delighting in the Lord pave the way for you to commit your way to Him?

Being armed with God’s Word not only ignites your faith, it enables you to fully trust in Him. Delighting in Him strengthens and encourages you to know that He desires to give you the desires of your heart.  Having the elements of trusting and delighting in place make it easy to commit your way to the Lord and know He will bring it to pass!

Pray and ask the Lord to give you His plan of action.  Depend on Him to help you eat healthy and obtain a higher level of fitness.  And be sure to consult your physician before beginning any diet or fitness routine. 

Trust… Delight… Commit!  It is a sure recipe for success.

To succeed in your health and fitness goals, you need only put them into the hands of another– into God’s hands– and He will bring them to pass!