Psalm 37:4

Delight yourself also in the LORD,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

I've heard people say that this verse means if you follow the Lord, He will give you what you want.

...reading my bible, reading my bible, smile at old ladies, be nice to my boss, don't say bad stuff, say "fine" when people ask how you're doing, good Christian, good Christian, good Christian...discover long lost millionaire aunt who leaves you all her money and your problems are solved forever.

I don't really think that's how it works.

For me, learning to delight myself in the Lord has meant learning contentment. Is my situation perfect? Have I learned to handle every day stresses with a quaint smile and a kind word? Nope, not all the time. But I keep pushing ahead and I keep asking for grace. God doesn't ask us to be perfect, he asks us to be committed. Being delighted in the Lord means being happy about that commitment and learning to do things His way.

And then the desires of our hearts slowly change. Okay maybe the long-lost aunt thing would be nice but what you really want, deep in your heart, is to see your kids following the Lord and flourishing. You still think about that dream mansion but what makes you sigh with contentment is seeing your regular old, normal sized house overflowing with hospitality and the people you love. Those things become the desires of your heart. Things that the Lord wants for your life become the things you want for your life.

As your heart changes, those old desires might still be there but they aren't important any longer. That's usually when God decides to drop one of them into your lap just because He can. It may not be the exact size and shape you always dreamed of but it doesn't take long to realize this is God's version of your pipe dreams. And His version is always way better than ours.

Comments

  1. Oh.My.This is words for my soul, thank you Jackie, these really mean a lot.

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