Sermon Summary: “Delight: Learning to Trust God More”
Pastor Bryan Hudson, D.Min.
www.BryanHudson.com / www.NewCovenant.org
This sermon introduces the spiritual theme of delight as both the 2026 vision emphasis and the foundation for a 21-day devotional journey through Psalm 37. Pastor Hudson teaches that delighting in the Lord is not passive emotion but an intentional, practiced orientation of life that results in deeper trust in God and fulfilled desires aligned with His will.
Foundational Scriptures
These texts frame the message by connecting trust, delight, wisdom, and stewardship of life.
Numbering Our Days: Wisdom Through Awareness
Psalm 90:12 teaches that life has limits, and those limits are a gift. Recognizing limitation brings clarity and focus, helping believers invest energy in what truly matters.
Key insights:
What Delight Really Means
Delight is a simple word with profound spiritual significance.
Delight reflects three things:
Biblically, delight means to bend, incline, or shape. What a person delights in is what they are ultimately bent toward. Over time, delight forms character, priorities, and spiritual posture.
If someone dislikes what they see in their desires or direction, God’s grace allows for intentional change.
The Power of Choice and Obedience
God leads, but believers still choose. Personal power lies in decision-making aligned with God’s will.
Psalm 37 outlines repeated actions:
Parable of Spiritual Formation: Learning Changes the Brain
Using a scientific illustration of learning (neural pathways and muscle memory), Pastor Hudson explains that:
Spiritually, obedience works the same way. Prayer, worship, generosity, faithfulness, and trust are learned behaviors that shape a believer’s inner life over time.
Christian growth is not transactional (“pray once and move on”) but relational and transformational.
Delight Can Shape Us for Good—or Harm
Just as hearts can be shaped toward God, they can also be trained toward foolishness.
The key question becomes: “How am I bent?”
What a person practices repeatedly eventually defines their nature.
Do Not Glory in Gifts—Glory in Knowing God
Jeremiah 9:23–24 warns against placing confidence in wisdom, strength, or wealth.
Important truths:
Trusting God more requires trusting things less.
God Delights in His People
David’s testimony in 2 Samuel 22:19 shows that God delivered him because He delighted in him. Looking back over hardship reveals God’s faithful support and deliverance into “broad places” of freedom.
This echoes the old gospel lyric:
“I look back and wonder how I got over.”
God brings His people through—not because of perfection, but because of faithful relationship.
Seeking the Kingdom Is a Continual Practice
Jesus taught that seeking the Kingdom is ongoing, not occasional. Delight requires consistent alignment, shaping believers so God can bless them without the blessing overwhelming them.
Matthew 6:33, But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
God: Shapes before He gives, Trains before He entrusts, Aligns before He expands
Blessings are meant to be enjoyed and shared, not idolized.
God’s Pleasure Is to Give
Luke 12:31, But seek [delight in] the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you.
32 “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure [delight] to give you the kingdom.
There is:
When hearts are aligned, desires become pure, motives mature, and requests reflect God’s will.
The Promise of Alignment
Isaiah 58:14 declares that those who delight in the Lord will:
This is not about fame or excess, but about living fully in God’s intended design.
Conclusion
Delight is learned. Trust is cultivated. Faithfulness forms pathways in the heart.
As believers are trained, shaped, and bent toward God:
The prayer of the sermon:
“Lord, train me, shape me, and bend me into a form that pleases You. I am learning to trust You more.”
