Desires of My Heart

Verse of the Week:

Take delight in the Lord,
    and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the Lord;

     trust in him and he will do this:  Psalms 37:4-5

Desires of My Heart

Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. (Ps. 37:4)  Boy does that verse sound good! How many times have I desired to own a million bucks, to travel around the world, and to live in a nice 3 bedroom home.  From the sound of that verse, it looks like God is my own personal genie giving me all the desires of my heart.  Right?  Many people are deceived by this verse and expect God to give them what they desire, and when He doesn't, they reject him or grow angry because he isn't that kind loving God that they thought He was.  I remember talking to a girl about prayer one time, and she told me:

"I have tried that before, but it doesn't work.  I never get what I ask for."

Not all people are asking God for a million bucks.  Some people are asking him for very good things such as peace in a home, safety of a loved one, and healing for a friend, but when He fails to give them what they want, they turn away from Him thinking what kind of loving God would allow harm to come to people? 

People tend to forget the first part of the verse, "Take delight in the Lord..."  What does it mean to truly delight in the Lord?  I read in a book one time that to delight in the Lord means that you want what God wants, not what you want .**   You love God so much that you can't help but desire what he desires.  When you delight in God's will, thoughts, and plans, they eventually become your own will, thoughts, and plans.  

Think of it this way.  Lets say Brayden, my son, falls in love with music when he grows up. For those of you that don't know me, I can't carry a tune when it comes to music.  I cannot even play an instrument other than 2-4 notes from piano lessons that lasted a month. To top it all off, I never really cared to listen to music any more because of my hearing loss; it just doesn't sound the same with a cochlear implant.  I much rather be running, hiking, playing basketball, bumping volleyballs, hitting tennis balls, tossing a football around, and throwing disc golfs.  I am an athlete not a musician. I would prefer that Brayden like sports too.  However, I love our son to much to make him do what I prefer, so if Brayden decided that he wanted to play the piano, sing songs, and become a musician; I would take delight in his passions for music and support him at all costs.  I would attend all of his concerts, listen to all of his songs, and provide him with music lessons to support his passion.  I would support him because I loved him and his desires are more important than my own desires for him.  I would not pressure him to play sports simply because it was my desire for him to do so, but I would desire what he wanted to do with his life. I desired what Brayden desired. 

 It is the same way with God.  I love God so much, that I can't help but desire what he wants. There are many things in my life that I have greatly desired.  I have desired to be a children's minister in a church; I have desired to work in the medical field; I have desired that some of my loved ones be healed of cancer; I have desired that I be healed of my hearing loss, but God said no.  However, when I shifted my focus on God and looked at His heart and His great love for me, my desires changed.  I desired what God desired. Sure I had a preference on what I wanted to do in life, but more than anything I wanted what God wanted.  The more I trusted in Him and grew in my relationship with Him, the more I wanted to do his will.  I knew He knew what was best for me.  He directed me into teaching which was not my first choice, but I grew to love it.  He didn't heal my ears, but I have seen how He has used my hearing loss to be an inspiration to others and to bring Him glory.  My loved ones struggled to win over the battle of cancer, and in the midst of it all, their deep faith has been an inspiration to me and others.  They have both passed away, but I know that they are happy serving God in an amazing place.  God's will is perfect; and I delight in the fact that He knows what is best. 

Lets take it a step further and not only reread verse 4 of Psalms 37, but verse 5 as well:

Take delight in the Lord,
    and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the Lord;

     trust in him and he will do this:

The key is to trust in God! When you are committed to doing his will; then you begin to trust in him on all aspects of your life.  In the story, On The Trail Of The Truth, God was talking to a young woman, and here is what He said:

When you trust me completely, as your Creator and Father and friend, when you trust me so much that you know I will do the best for you, when you trust me enough to want my will in your life, that becomes the desire of your heart.  The desire of your heart is to do my will.  And when you want my will for your life, and you want that more than anything else, then I will give you that-I will certainly work out my will in your life, And it will be the best possible life you could ever have! You will have the desire of your heart, and everything you could possibly hope for shall be yours-because your life is in my hands, not your own.

I want my life to be in God's hands, not mine.  I delight in you, Jesus!  My desire is what you desire! Mold me and us me and make me into the person that will bring you GLORY.  I love YOU!

 Take delight in the Lord,
    and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the Lord;

     trust in him and he will do this: