“Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart” (The Bible. ESV Study Bible. English Standard Version. Ps. 37:4, Emphasis added).
This verse sometimes needs to be better understood. God is not a genie in a bottle that we can expect to give us everything we want. We must focus on the first part of the verse – “Delight yourself in the Lord” (Ps. 37:4, emphasis added), to help us understand the context of the message. When our hearts are in the right place with God, we will delight in Him, and therefore, we will want Him over everything else. Additionally, we will align with what He desires most: to be with us. When we align with His ways, we will enjoy Him more.
We may have good intentions, but even our most heartfelt and sincere desires that are anything other than Him first are considered selfish. We cannot expect God to give us all our wishes. Only when we put Him foremost above all else will everything be in its proper place, humbly and delighting in His presence, we can relinquish control. This posture unblocks our hearts to receive the Holy Spirit as He moves according to His will and purpose. Jesus warns that wherever our treasure is, our hearts will follow (Luke 12:34). The nature of our hearts will reveal what we value most. This emphasizes the importance of what we love – the character of our heart – the center of our being and most profound desires, including reason, convictions, emotions, and will. Jesus explains that what comes from our mouth proceeds from the heart (Matt. 15:18).
When our heart delights in God, He changes our hearts to want the right things.
He is the giver of every good gift (James 1:17), and He delights in supplying provisions when we acknowledge Him as our Father and express our gratitude and need for Him. Nevertheless, He is not obligated to us for anything. Many heartaches in our lives are misunderstood while we are going through them. However, we can rest assured that our sincere prayers are heard. They are addressed. The goodness of God is embedded in His character. He is a God who sees us and cares about us. His heart breaks when we are in pain, just like a good father who cares for his child. Just because we cannot see the end or how it will turn out does not mean He is not there for us. Jesus says, “I will be with you always” (Matt. 28:20, emphasis added).
Faith Walk Ministries, Inc. 