WILL GOD GIVE ME ALL MY DESIRES?

“Take delight in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart”

-Psalm 37:4

WILL GOD GIVE ME ALL MY DESIRES? - Some suggest that Ps 37:4 is a promise that we will receive whatever we desire. And most of us have fallen into the trap wondering "Lord, why don't You give me what I desire since it is not a bad thing?" When we are frustrated by a promise it may be because we are not interpreting the promise correctly! 

When we examine the context, we observe that Psalm 37 tells us not to fret or be envious of the wicked and not focus on what they have or what they seem to be getting away with. Instead we are to focus on Jehovah, the great I Am Who promises to "supply all our needs (not our wants) according to His riches in Christ Jesus." (Php 4:19-note) And when we compare a parallel passage like 1Jn 5:14-note, we see that we need to ask for desires that are "according to His will" not our will. (see also qualification of abiding in His Word - Jn 15:7) As Spurgeon says those "who delight in God desire or ask nothing but what will please God." 

In other words as we practice the presence of God, daily delighting in Him, in His Word, in prayerful communion with Him, gradually His Spirit transforms our heart so that our desires become His desires and it is those desires He will grant. Indeed, our desires will be His desires when our heart sings "Take my will, and make it Thine. It shall no be no longer mine. Take my love, my Lord, I pour at Thy feet its treasure store. Take myself and I will be, ever only, all for Thee, ever only all for Thee." (Frances Havergal) 

If God has our hearts, He can trust us with His blessings. So let us DELIGHT in God and He will become our greatest DESIRE! And if all we desire is God, God will give us all we desire…Christ Jesus Himself, "in Whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." (Col 2:3-note) The path to true fulfillment in this short life does not lie in preoccupation with self but in selfless preoccupation with Jesus, our all in all (Heb 12:2-note, Col 3:11-note). Beloved, true contentment becomes our experiential reality when God's will is more important than our wants and when we come to realize that Jesus is everything we need for time and eternity!