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Ring of Truth provides 366 daily ‘proofs’ that the Bible is consistent throughout from Genesis to Revelation, and relevant for our lives today!
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Psalm 37:4
Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.
This is one of those verses that is so often taken out of context and not thought through.
Of course, we want God to give us the desires of our hearts and yes, of course, we want God to give others the desires of their hearts, too. So what is the problem?
Well, take sport. Christians playing in both opposing teams pray for success – pray for the Lord to give them the desires of their heart. What is God going to do? Cause a draw? But then no one wins and none receives the true desire of their heart.
You say, “I want to do well in business.” Great, but are your business ethics of integrity? Can you handle the pressures of growth? Can you handle the stress of success?
As we see, time and time again, when people ‘win a fortune’, they are totally unable to handle it. The classic is –
A wife wins a million dollars. She says to husband, “Pack your things.”
“Heavy for winter or light for summer?” he replies (thinking of the holiday before him).
“Whatever you like, as long as you are gone by tonight.” she answers.
The Bible tells us, as we shall see later – “the heart of man is deceitful above all things and beyond cure” (Jeremiah 17:9) and “The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil” (1 Timothy 6:10). So, if we get given our heart’s desires, we can become horribly unstuck.
It doesn’t make any difference if our desires are good or bad in one sense. They are still ‘our’ desires. When I was at high school, I wanted to become a senior lecturer of languages – French and German. The Lord first took me into Banking for 20 years, then Christian Radio in the U.K. and N.Z., and now for many years, using me as a Pastor. Never once have I been a lecturer in languages. So I did not get that ‘desire of my heart’ even though I have sought to be obedient and to follow and serve the Lord to the very best of my ability over all these years.
So what does this verse really mean? The key is at the beginning of each of these verses 3/4/5. “Trust in the Lord and do good/Delight yourself in the Lord/Commit your way to the Lord.” If God gives us all our desires, we would be in a real mess. Most times when we get our desires, the receipt is less attractive than the desire. At best, we get bored, frustrated and look for the next one. At worst, it can utterly destroy us.
But, if we leave it and our future to Him, it is risky, dynamic, fulfilling and exciting; the novelty never wears off.
So what is the real deep desire of my heart? To experience God’s desires for me. ‘To please God, follow Him, and see the Kingdom of God extended on earth and see the captives set free.’ And yes, He is giving me the fulfilment of that desire, which is far more exciting, dramatic and satisfying than anything else I could have ever imagined. I’ve not regretted one minute.
Do you want the desires of your heart or the desires of His heart for you?
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