“Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” (Psalm 37:4 NIV)
The longer I have been a follower of Jesus the more this verse of Scripture has made sense to me. Early in my life as a Christian I thought sometimes felt frustrated that God wasn’t giving me the things I wanted. Over the following 30 years I have come to understand on the deepest level the powerful truth in this verse:
God gives us the desires of our hearts WHEN we find our greatest delight in the Lord and His purposes, BECAUSE delighting in Him aligns our desires with His. In other words, His will becomes our will, and His desires become our desires.
You might desire something desperately. But the Lord can see all and knows all and may not allow you to have the thing you desire because it ultimately would not be the best thing for you. The longer you find your joy in the Lord, The more your heart changes causing you to desire what He wants for your life MORE then what you want for your life.
Jesus reminded us, “You fathers—if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake instead? Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion? Of course not! So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.” (Luke 11:11-13 NLT)
The Lord is better than a good father. He is The good-GOOD Father, who wants HIS absolute BEST outcome for your life. As your happiness becomes rooted in His will, you too will want HIS BEST more than what you currently THINK is best.
Desire God’s best, and He will give you the desires of your heart.