Firm Foundation with Bryan Hudson

Delight: Learning To Trust God More

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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
Psalm 37:3–5, Trust in the Lord, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. 4 Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart. 5 Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass. 
Psalm 90:12 – “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”
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:
Limitation is not negative: It helps eliminate distractions and refocus purpose.
Time is a stewardship: Time is non-renewable; once spent, it cannot be reclaimed.
Wisdom values quality over quantity: As maturity grows, the goal shifts from “trying everything” to living intentionally.
Awareness matters: Living “awake” to God’s activity helps believers avoid taking people, opportunities, or blessings for granted.
What Delight Really Means
Delight is a simple word with profound spiritual significance.
Delight reflects three things:
Desire – what you want
Disposition – your attitude and emotional posture
Direction – where your life is headed
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:
Trust (in the Lord), Do (good), Dwell (in the land), Feed (on His faithfulness), Delight (yourself in the Lord), Commit (Your way to the Lord), Trust (in Him) 
These are not one-time acts but repeated behaviors that train the heart.
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Parable of Spiritual Formation: Learning Changes the Brain
Using a scientific illustration of learning (neural pathways and muscle memory), Pastor Hudson explains that:
Repetition creates pathways.
Practice strengthens habits.
What becomes “second nature” is the result of sustained discipline.
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.
Proverbs 1:22, “How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity? For scorners delight in their scorning, And fools hate knowledge.
Culture often reinforces habits that produce spiritual immaturity.
 
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:
Blessings can become burdens if they replace trust in God.
Success without spiritual grounding leads to misplaced confidence.
True delight is found in understanding and knowing the Lord.
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:
No begging
No striving
No manipulation
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:
Ride on the “high places” of God’s purpose
Walk in freedom
Live unrestrained in God’s 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:
Trust deepens
Desires align
Blessings become sustainable
Life reflects God’s purpose
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.”

"Do You Need To Be Converted?" – Firm Foundation Inspiration Minute #206 for January 28, 2026

Matthew 18:1,  At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”2 Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, 3 and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 

"Divine Calibration" – Firm Foundation Inspiration Minute #205 for January 21, 2026

God’s Word as the Calibration StandardPsalm 119:105, Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.Life must be aligned to God’s Word to avoid drift, error, or distortion.
2 Corinthians 13:5, Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves.We don't need to make assumptions or just operate on our feelings. The Bible gives us objective standards.
Renewal of the Mind is like a RecalibrationRomans 12:2, Be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.The world introduces bias and noise; the mind must be recalibrated so perception and decision-making reflect God’s will.
Correction and Course AdjustmentProverbs 3:5–6, Trust in the Lord with all your heart… He shall direct your paths.”
Serving1 John 3:16–18, Let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.

"The Value of Struggle" – Firm Foundation Inspiration Minute #204 for January 14, 2026

TRANSCRIPT:
Firm Foundation Inspiration Minute – Talk #204
Topic: The Value of Struggle
Greetings and welcome to another Firm Foundation Inspiration Minute.This is Talk #204, and our topic today is The Value of Struggle.
I’m going to spend a bit more time with this topic by reading from Genesis chapter 32, beginning at verse 24:
“Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day. Now, when He saw that He could not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his hip, and the socket of Jacob’s hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him. And He said, ‘Let Me go, for the day breaks.’ But Jacob said, ‘I will not let You go unless You bless me.’ And He said to him, ‘What is your name?’ He said, ‘Jacob.’ And He said, ‘Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with man and have prevailed.’”
There are many lessons to learn from this text—not just what I’ve read, but the whole context. Today, we’re focusing on the lesson of the value of struggle.
 
Struggle as a Divine Encounter
We read that Jacob was alone with God.The text calls Him a man, but we know this was a pre-incarnate manifestation of Jesus Christ. This struggle was designed to take Jacob to another level.
We sometimes perceive struggle as a hindrance, but the Apostle James made it clear that when trials and tests come, we should not think it strange.
James said:
“Do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you.”
He compared it to gold being refined in fire.
He also said:
“Count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.”
And then he tells us that patience has a work—to make us complete and entire, lacking nothing.
So there is value in your struggle, but you have to frame it that way. You have to see it that way in the grace of God.
 
Persistence in the Pain
As Jacob and this Man wrestled until the breaking of day, when the Man saw He could not prevail against him, He touched the socket of Jacob’s hip. His hip went out of joint.
But even in the midst of Jacob’s hip being out of joint, he continued to wrestle until the Man said, “Let me go, for the day breaks.”
Jacob replied, “I won’t let you go until you bless me.”
One of the values we gain in struggle is not giving up—not quitting, not caving in, not making excuses. Because if you are in a struggle in the will of God, there is a purpose for it. God is doing something to elevate you.
Again, as James said:
“Let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”
So even though Jacob was in pain, even though his hip was out of joint, he kept wrestling until he prevailed.
 
Understanding Jacob’s Name
When the Man asked him, “What is your name?” he said, “My name is Jacob.”
We often think of Jacob as the supplanter and deceiver, but I believe the greater revelation is this:
When Jacob was born, he was the twin of his brother Esau. Esau came out first, and the Bible says Jacob had a hold of Esau’s heel. When they pulled Esau out, Jacob came with him, gripping his brother’s heel.
The name Jacob literally means “one who takes the heel.”
I’ve always considered this an attribute of Jacob—the tenacity,the sticking with it,the not giving up,the holding on to the heel.
So when God asked him, “What is your name?” it was as if he was saying,“I am the one who takes hold of the heel and won’t let go.”
He proved his value and his purpose in that struggle.
 
From Jacob to Israel
Then the Man said:
“Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men and have prevailed.”
Israel means “one who struggles with God” or “God strives.”It is a name that represents the value of struggle.
The one who persevered—even sometimes to his own detriment—was elevated through struggle. God acknowledged him as one who struggles with God and prevails.
When the Bible says the Man could not overpower him, it was not that God was weak. God allowed resistance to test him and to grow him. This was not a power struggle—this was a relational struggle.
God wanted to elevate the relationship between Himself and Jacob, and that happened through struggle.
 
The Limp Was Repositioning, Not Punishment
Jacob’s limp was not punishment—it was repositioning.
He could no longer walk in self-sufficiency.He could no longer identify as the one who “takes hold of the heel and won’t let go.”That is self-sufficiency.
He had learned to trust God, to engage God, and to stay engaged with God.
One of the things about disability—or helping people with disability—is that it makes you recognize your need for help and assistance from others.
 
A Word for 2026
As we enter this new year, 2026, recognize the value of struggle—past, present, or future. Don’t look at it as something to hinder you. Realize that no matter what happens, God is elevating you, and you will not be the same after an encounter with God.
The most important lesson is this:
You will be less self-sufficient and more God-sufficient.
 
Ministry Update
As you may be aware, I am on a mini sabbatical for the month of January.
I invited Pastor Lee Robb to minister at New Covenant Church, and he brought a very important message entitled “Desires That Don’t Betray You.” Be sure to click the link in this blog to watch that message on YouTube and download the detailed summary.
I appreciate Pastor Robb for being such a blessing.
This coming Sunday, we will be blessed by the ministry of Jan Mitchell.
God bless. Have a great day, and be encouraged.

"Sharpen the Saw" – Firm Foundation Inspiration Minute #203 for January 7, 2026

Ecclesiastes 10:10, If the ax is dull, and one does not sharpen the edge, then he must use more strength; but wisdom brings success.

"Joy & Desires Of The Heart" – Firm Foundation Inspiration Minute #202 for December 31, 2025

Message from Sunday, December 28Joy is Delight – Bent for God
Psalm 37:3, Trust in the Lord, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. 4 Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart. 5 Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass.

Joy is Delight – Bent for God

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Psalm 37:3, Trust in the Lord, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. 4 Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart. 5 Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass.
Dr. Bryan Hudson teaches that biblical joy is not dependent on circumstances but is a deep, settled gladness rooted in God’s presence, promises, and purposes. Joy is defined as delight—being “bent” toward God in devotion, obedience, and purpose—rather than temporary happiness that comes and goes.
Drawing from Luke 2, Psalm 37, Nehemiah, and Habakkuk, the message explains that true joy develops as believers delight themselves in the Lord, abide in Him daily, and remain committed to His will even in difficulty. Using Nehemiah’s example, Dr. Hudson shows that joy is strengthened when people refuse to become comfortable in complacency, stay aligned with God’s mission, and serve others faithfully. Ultimately, “the joy of the Lord is your strength” because a life bent toward God produces enduring resilience, purpose, and spiritual power.

"Joy for You, Wherever You Are" – Firm Foundation Inspiration Minute #201 for December 24, 2025

Message from Sunday, December 21"Good Tidings of Great Joy"
Luke 2:8, Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. 10 Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

Good Tidings of Great Joy

In Good Tidings of Great Joy, Pastor Bryan Hudson teaches that joy is central to God’s redemptive plan and flows from living in God’s presence. Drawing from Psalm 16:11 and Luke 2, he explains that joy is not the same as happiness—happiness is momentary, but joy is constant, like the air we breathe when we remain in God’s presence.
The angelic announcement of Jesus’ birth reveals that the gospel itself is “good tidings of great joy” meant for all people. Jesus came to create the conditions for humanity to experience God’s presence, receive new life, and live in sustained joy. Pastor Hudson emphasizes that rejoicing is the outward expression of inward joy, and believers are called not only to experience joy themselves but to share it with others through acts of love, service, and outreach—helping people encounter the lasting joy found only in Christ.

"The Last Adam Solved Our Problem" – Firm Foundation Inspiration Minute #200 for December 17, 2025

Listen to My Message from Sunday, December 14God's Redemption Design: More Than a Personal Savior Part Two of Designed for Destiny
TRANSCRIPT:
Greetings, and welcome to another Firm Foundation Inspiration Minute. As a matter of fact, this is talk #200! Praise God! We began this series in January of 2022. I thank God for His grace that empowers me to bring you these inspirational talks. I trust you’ve been blessed and encouraged by them.
Our topic today is “The Last Adam Solved Our Problem.”
Reading from 1 Corinthians 15:45, “And so it is written, the first man Adam became a living being. The last Adam became a life-giving Spirit.”
The problem we had was the disobedience of Adam in the Garden of Eden. He and his wife did not follow God’s instruction. When they disobeyed God, death entered the world. There was first a spiritual death, and then humanity succumbed to physical death. They were not designed to die physically, but sin always brings death—both spiritually and physically.
However, this did not take God by surprise. In that same moment, God made a promise that the seed of the woman would crush the head of the serpent, which is a type of the devil. Jesus destroyed the works of the devil. 
While neither Adam, nor Eve, nor the serpent understood what God said at the time, we know in hindsight that this Seed was preserved all the way to the coming of Jesus through the Virgin Mary.
Romans 5:15 reads: “For if by one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One.”
Jesus, the Last Adam, became a life-giving Spirit.
This text explains that by one man’s offense, Adam’s, death reigned through that one sinful seed. The Scripture goes on to say that those of us who receive the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.
Through Jesus, we live in the gift of righteousness, and we reign in life over sin, Satan, and defeat. Amen!
So the Last Adam, Jesus, solved our problem. Rejoice in that!
God bless. Have a great day, and be encouraged.