According to a blog posted at Joel Osteen’s website, “God is interested in all your needs, desires, and even, your prosperity. […] Heaven is full of blessings waiting to be bestowed upon you. […] He will cause rivers of blessings to flow into your financial desert. […] Expect supernatural provision in your life.”
One scripture quoted in support of this prosperity gospel comes from the psalms: “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart” (37:4). David isn’t making financial promises here, though. He encourages his readers to take delight “in the Lord.” If we delight “in the Lord,” then the desires of our heart are for God – not for material things such as big bank balances, yachts, mansions, or luxury cars.
Delight in the Lord is at the heart of pleasing worship. Why do we assemble with the church on Sunday? Is it because worship is our duty?
Suppose that a husband kisses his wife goodnight and says, “I’m giving you a kiss because it’s my duty.” On her birthday, he gives her flowers and says, “I’m giving you these roses because it’s my duty.” Will she be happy with him? “Happy” is probably not the first adjective she would use to describe her feelings. A good husband does feel the obligation to show his wife special attention, but his genuine love may render duty almost irrelevant. Similarly, if we truly love the Lord, if we delight in him, the biblical command to assemble for worship or the threat of punishment for neglecting the assembly becomes almost entirely unnecessary.
People who don’t delight in the Lord can’t imagine the rich blessings they miss. A man who yearns for pleasure in drunkenness, sexual impurity, or selfish ambition is like an ignorant child making mud pies in the slum. The little fellow is completely unaware of the pleasures of a vacation at the beach.