Delight Yourself in the Lord: A Devotional

By Margie Guin, Pastor Justin and Annette Bridges

Delight is a high degree of pleasure or enjoyment or joy. As a verb it means to give great pleasure, satisfaction, or enjoyment or to please highly. God delights in us. He wants us to delight in Him and to be a delight to others.

That is the message he conveyed to author Margie Guin during her prayer time for a ministry trip to Europe. She has set aside her mornings to delight herself in Him and, in doing so, discovered that scriptures opened up to her and spoke to her heart. Now she shares those messages through this yearlong devotional. Through these daily messages, you can sit with God for a time, to be delighted and to be a delight to Him. Listen to your heart and make notes of what you hear; He will be speaking to you. God’s Word is the light that shines in our darkest times, and when we receive God’s Word personally for ourselves by faith, the darkest times will never overcome this light.

This yearlong daily devotional demonstrates that God delights in you and helps you learn to take delight in God in return.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Jun 27, 2021
• ISBN: 9781973692140

Margie Guin

Margie Guin grew up in a Christian home and has known God was calling her for His purpose since she was a teenager. In 1998, she went to India on her first ministry trip, which started a fire burning in her. Since then she has ministered in numerous countries in churches, orphanages, schools, youth groups, and women’s groups. She currently lives in Texas. Expect More Ministries Stephenville, TX [e-mail] [e-mail]

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DAY 1

Philippians 3:13 Amplified Bible (AMP)

¹³ [Brothers and sisters, I do not consider that I have made

it my own yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies

behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead,

We can’t move forward if we are hanging on to want is in the past. Things we wanted to do, or should have done. Maybe we did things or said things we wish we hadn’t and can’t make it right.

We can apologize and forget, we can learn from our mistakes and let them go. Move on to what God has planned for you to do. He has good thoughts and plans for us. It is going to be an exciting year of Marvels, Wonders, and Extraordinary Manifestations of the Greatness of our God!!

My notes:

DAY 2

Ephesians 4:26 Amplified Bible (AMP)

26 Be angry [at sin—at immorality, at injustice, at ungodly

behavior], yet do not sin; do not let your anger [cause you

shame, nor allow it to] last until the sun goes down.

We have all had occasions to be angry, we are human. Holding on to our anger or disappointment really doesn’t change anything does it. It will just keep us from moving forward in our walk with God.

I know from my own experience it blocked the Blessing from my life. I held offense against someone for far too long. After I went and made things right it freed me up in many ways. I had cleaned up my heart so that the Blessing could go to work again in my heart, mind, and my spirit. We have an enemy, the Devil, who doesn’t want us to move forward in what God has for us. Sometimes we just have to let it go.

My Notes:

DAY 3

Psalm 42:1-2 Amplified Bible (AMP)

42 As the deer pants [longingly] for the water brooks,

So my soul pants [longingly] for You, O God.

2 My soul (my life, my inner self) thirsts for God, for the living God.

When will I come and see the face of God?

Have you ever found yourself standing in front of your refrigerator looking for something knowing full well you were not hungry?

Just as God created us with dreams and plans, He has also created us with a place that only He can fill. A longing only He can fill.

This is why we are never satisfied until we give all of ourselves to Him and build our Personal Relationship with Him.

So, the next time you are standing in front of that fridge, ask Him if you are hungry for food? Or do you need to go out and take a walk with Him.

He is as hungry for us as we are for Him. Don’t get in a hurry when you are with Him. Stay until you are satisfied. He loves spending time with us and showing us all He has for us.

My notes:

DAY 4

Proverbs 21:2 Amplified Bible (AMP)

2 Every man’s way is right in his own eyes, But the Lord weighs

and examines the hearts [of people and their motives].

I have mulled over this verse since I read it.

While we make our plans, I believe we must get God’s plan first. At least take the time to run our plans by Him.

And, do a heart check before we move forward. Our Holy Spirit is in us to lead us in the way of God’s plans for us. He doesn’t lead us to do anything that he doesn’t equip us to do. Remember Jeremiah 29:11(KJV): He has thoughts and plans for us. Good ones! He didn’t put you here for no reason. There is a plan for your life. He isn’t hiding it from you either. Timing is everything.

My notes

DAY 5

Jeremiah 40:4 New King James Version (NKJV)

4 And now look, I free you this day from the

chains that were on your hand…

Years ago, I was drowning in hopelessness. Everything from my past was sitting in my present and blocking my future. Then the last straw toppled everything over and I totally lost it. I found myself sitting on my couch in the early morning hours crying out to God. Then I had an open vision. It wasn’t a chain it was an onion, and a knife. The top came off and then later by layer my past hurts, things I failed at, people that wounded me, old feelings. From as far as I could remember people and situations even words that were spoken to me or about me fell away. And I was free from them. God will free us from things, but if we choose to pick them up again, they will still haunt you, so don’t do that. Run with them to God and let Him take care of them. I use my story in teaching to help others, to help them understand that God is their strong tower. You can find your safe place in Him.

My notes:

DAY 6

Philippians 2:13 Amplified Bible (AMP)

13 For it is [not your strength, but it is] God who is

effectively at work in you, both to will and to work [that is,

strengthening, energizing, and creating in you the longing and

the ability to fulfill your purpose] for His good pleasure.

Sometimes we feel like God wants us to do something and we just don’t know how, or even where to start, and mercy me look how much this will cost! We just can’t do it!!

Well, this verse is your answer.

It is not you. Not your strength, not your ability, not your know how. It is all God, His ability, His creativity, His abundance.

He just needs us to be willing and obedient, and faithful to do what He has prepared for us, for His pleasure, His glory and honor.

And we get Blessed because of His love. We are blessed so we can be a blessing to others.

God will support you.

My notes:

DAY 7

Proverbs 20:7 Amplified Bible (AMP)

7 The righteous man who walks in integrity and lives life in accord

with his [godly] beliefs—How blessed [happy and spiritually secure]

are his children after him [who have his example to follow].

My husband, Jim, my sister’s, and I are so blessed to have had righteous dads who have lived Godly lives as examples before us as kids. This is the way we are to live before our children and so on down through the generations to come.

I remember both of my grandpa’s reading their bibles and praying, testifying and or preaching. Then my dad singing and teaching the gospel, always showing us how to live Godly lives.

Thank you, God for these godly men in my life.

My notes:

DAY 8

Galatians 5:25 Amplified Bible (AMP)

25 If we [claim to] live by the [Holy] Spirit, we must also walk

by the Spirit [with personal integrity, godly character, and moral

courage—our conduct empowered by the Holy Spirit].

I have shared about our father’s integrity and the examples they set for us to follow.

While they taught us well, we had to make our choice to follow Christ for ourselves.

I like the way the Amplified version here says personal integrity. It all comes down to our own personal relationship with God, and our Holy Spirit gives us instruction and empowers us to do so. Listen to your spirit.

My notes:

DAY 9

Romans 4:7 Amplified Bible (AMP)

7 "Blessed and happy and favored are those whose lawless acts have been forgiven, And whose sins have been covered up and completely buried.

We are forgiven everything. When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior God sees us as washed clean. We are made righteous which means we are in right standing with God.

We no longer have a past; we aren’t judged by our past.

Old me is gone; I am a new creation bought by the blood of Jesus!

We don’t ever have to look back, only keep our eyes on Jesus.

Read Romans 4 (the version of your choice)

My notes:

DAY 10

1 Corinthians 13:1 Amplified Bible (AMP)

The Excellence of Love

1 If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love

[for others growing out of God’s love for me], then I have become only

a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal [just an annoying distraction].

An annoying distraction! We do not want to be an annoying distraction to others, and yet that is what this verse says we are if we aren’t showing God’s love. We need to always be mindful of our love walk. We can read in the New Testament that Jesus was moved with compassion and healed them all. That means He felt their pain.

Love for us took Him to the cross.

Let us look around and really see people, listen to them and ask God to give us His love for them. Let our Holy Spirit love them through us.

And please, let us not be an annoying distraction!

My notes:

DAY 11

Jeremiah 31:3 Amplified Bible (AMP)

3 The Lord appeared to me (Israel) from ages past, saying, "I have

loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness

I have drawn you and continued My faithfulness to you.

Our God is so wonderful and He loves us in ways we can’t even imagine. His love is unlimited and unconditional.

He created us, and as I said before there is a place in us that we try to fill up with other things that can, and only will be, filled with him.

He made us and He draws us to Himself. The decision is ours. Do we choose Him or continue to fill that longing with the world.?

Jesus Himself said this in John 6:44-45(AMP)

What will it be?

My notes:

DAY 12

1 Corinthians 2:9 Amplified Bible (AMP)

9 but just as it is written [in Scripture], "Things which the eye has

not seen and the ear has not heard, And which have not entered

the heart of man, All that God has prepared for those who love

Him [who hold Him in affectionate reverence, who obey Him, and

who gratefully recognize the benefits that He has bestowed]."

1 Corinthians 2 is a very good chapter to go to often.

Jesus had told His disciples that He had to go away so that the Holy Spirit could come. He is the same Holy Spirit that comes to us when we accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior.

This is the same Holy Spirit that reveals truth and wisdom to us.

Verse 12 tells us that we have not received the spirit that belongs to the world, but the Holy Spirit that belongs to God.

I really suggest that you read this chapter verses 1-16. Verse 16 is one I have said over and over to myself, this has become one of my life verses. I have a mind, the mind of Christ!

1 Corinthians 2:16 Amplified Bible (AMP)

16 For who has known the mind and purposes of the Lord,

so as to instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ

[to be guided by His thoughts and purposes].

My notes:

DAY 13

Galatians 5:13-14 Amplified Bible (AMP)

13 For you, my brothers, were called to freedom; only do not let your

freedom become an opportunity for the sinful nature (worldliness,

selfishness), but through love serve and seek the best for one another.

14 For the whole Law [concerning human relationships] is fulfilled in

one precept, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself [that is, you shall

have an unselfish concern for others and do things for their benefit]."

Jesus was love, God’s pure love. Not just while He was teaching and healing the sick. It is who He is.

We are to do the same, show the same love and compassion. I believe it really should start in our own homes and spill over from there.

It is really not a suggestion it is a commandment.

What we are called to do. You will find this in Galatians 6:12(AMP).

My notes:

DAY 14

Psalm 139:23-24 Amplified Bible (AMP)

23 Search me [thoroughly], O God, and know my heart;

Test me and know my anxious thoughts; 24 And see if there is any

wicked or hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.

This was David’s prayer and mine also. I learned this as a little girl and I still say it today. Do I mess up? Yes. But I want to always stand clean before God who knows my heart and my thoughts. We need to learn and grow our faith and the grace that is freely given to us. Forgiveness is always there for us.

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My notes:

DAY 15

1 Corinthians 10:13 Amplified Bible (AMP)

13 No temptation [regardless of its source] has overtaken or enticed you that is not common to human experience [nor is any temptation unusual or beyond human resistance]; but God is faithful [to His word—He is compassionate and trustworthy], and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability [to resist], but along with the temptation He [has in the past and is now and] will [always] provide the way out as well, so that you will be able to endure it [without yielding, and will overcome temptation with joy].

There is so much to this scripture.

We have all been in hard and trying situations where we are tempted to quit, give up, pack up and leave, eat a whole cake, or said something and we can’t take it back. Maybe you are walking through an illness and you are thinking is all this really worth it. A loved one dies and how can you possibly go on without them.

There is a away, His name is Jesus and He has experienced EVERY TEMPTATION and/or trial that you have. He made a way for you while He was walking through it also.

He will walk it again with you. For as long as it takes to get you strong again.

He is compassionate and you can trust in Him, and there is a way of escape

My notes:

DAY 16

Acts 19:11-12 New King James Version (NKJV)

11 Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, 12 so

that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the

sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them.

We can trace praying over handkerchiefs back to Paul and the New Testament. Handkerchiefs and other items where used to lay on the sick as a method to pray for healing. We refer to them today as prayer cloths. It is a point of contact to stretch out our faith to God for healing.

What is a point of contact?

Jesus said to many who came to Him for healing that it was their faith that made them whole. Is this our point of contact? Our point of contact, as I see it, can be many different things. I believe it can be the prayer of faith, the laying on of hands, a prayer cloth, Jim and I have used them ourselves on occasion. And Holy Communion, we have taken Communion over things we have been believing for.

In bible days people approached God in different ways and used different points of contact. One of my favorites is the woman with the issue of blood, she said if I can touch the hem of his garment, I will be made whole. You can find her story in Matthew 9(KJV). The point of contact is a simple truth, and I believe it is an act of faith. Maybe it is just something to meditate on today.

My notes:

DAY 17

Zephaniah 3:17 Amplified Bible (AMP)

17 "The Lord your God is in your midst, A Warrior who saves. He

will rejoice over you with joy; He will be quiet in His love [making no

mention of your past sins], He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.

God is always in our midst, always right here with us. Rejoice!

This is such a good verse I have just been reading it over and over this morning.

My God is in my midst, He is with me.

My God is a warrior.

He rejoices over me.

He is quiet, never mentions my past sins, mistakes, who else does that?!

He rejoices over me with joy!!

Praise Him today!

He delights over us!

My notes:

DAY 18

2 Peter 3:8 Amplified Bible (AMP)

8 Nevertheless, do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years is like one day.

God is never early or late but He is right on time. And, He is always there, right with us. He never leaves or forsakes us. He waits patiently for us to come to Him. He is faithful and just, He keeps His Word, if He said it, He will do it. My job is to find out what He has said in His Word, believe it, trust in it and have faith in my God to bring it to past.

Read Psalms 118:24(AMP) I have always loved this verse. I woke up before the alarm this morning, and was laying there talking to God, thanking Him for the night and the new day ahead of me. I reached over and got my phone, went to my bible app for my verse of the day, and this was it! God made this day for us! A new day, filled with promise, good thoughts and plans from Him just for me and you.

My notes:

DAY 19

John 14:27 King James Version (KJV)

27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

I am so thankful for the Peace that Jesus was talking about here. His peace, God’s peace. He said to them let not your heart be troubled. I have drawn on this peace before. I have a lot just here lately.

There are times when things are out of our control and they rob our