God’s Delight is Not Always Delightful

Psalm 40:8
“I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.”

God’s will is often the focus of many preachers, and especially many youth speakers. We often hear how you will never be happy until you are living in the center of God’s will for your life. Living in God’s will is important, but His will is not always going to be delightful. There are going to be times when God’s will is flat out unpleasant; however, even though God’s will may be unpleasant at times, that doesn’t mean that you won’t be happy and that you can’t delight in doing God’s will.

The Psalmist says, “I delight to do thy will…” This verse follows several unpleasantries that he endured. You will find in this psalm that there are several things God’s will does not promise if you obey it.

First, God’s will does not promise that God will come through immediately for your every request. Verse 1 says, “I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.” There are going to be times while doing God’s will when you are going to think that God is not hearing your request. In fact, the Psalmist said that there were times when he cried to the LORD. You are going to find that there are times while doing God’s will that you will be brought to the brink of endurance, but the good news is that God will come through. Though the Psalmist waited and cried, God heard and answered. God’s will doesn’t mean that everything will happen in your timing, but it does mean that everything will happen in God’s timing. As long as you accept God’s timing, you will be able to delight in God’s will for your life.

Second, God’s will does not promise that you will never be touched by the battle. Verse 2 says, “He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.” There are going to be times in God’s will when you are going to find yourself in the mire of the battle, but the good news is that God will bring you out of that horrible pit if you continue to follow Him. Christian, nobody enjoys the battles, but they are a part of the Christian life. You will never fulfill God’s will for your life if you constantly run from the battles. Battles are a part of God’s will, but you can be assured that He will bring you out of the pit if you will stay in His will.

Third, God’s will doesn’t mean that you will always be popular. Verse 4 says, “Blessed is that man that maketh the LORD his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.” If you walk in God’s will, you are going to find yourself in the minority. The proud will lie and boast about their way, but you must trust the LORD that His way is right. My friend, stop looking for the popular way and just trust the LORD’s way. God’s will often leads you through times when others won’t like you, but His will always keeps you in His favor.

The key to delighting in God’s will when it is not delightful is to stay close to His Word. The reason the Psalmist delighted in God’s will was because God’s law was in his heart. When you make God’s Word your heartbeat, you will find God’s will is delightful no matter what you face. Christian, stop looking for delight from the outside and get your pleasure from God’s Word. Keep God’s Word as your central focus and focal point of your life, because it is this focus that makes His will delightsome in times of unpleasantry.