Your Heart’s Desire

I was listening to one of the local Christian radio stations yesterday and the DJ started talking about how God wanted us to “dream big”. That we should spend time thinking about what we really wanted. Do I want a bigger house? An exciting vacation? A new car?

And then she quoted this:

Take delight in the Lord,
and he will give you your heart’s desires.
Psalm 37:4

My heart broke. And I think God’s heart hurt too. How often do we just gloss over the first part of this verse that tells us Who we are supposed to desire? We are to find our delight in the Lord.

In fact, wanting God is so critical, it’s the #1 commandment. In the New Testament, Matthew records this interaction between Jesus and a Pharisee:

36 “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”

37 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment.”
Matthew 22:36-38

I believe that the passage in Psalms is as much an instruction as it is a promise. We were designed to take all of the yearning that is within us and focus it on Him. And as a result we will find ourselves filled to overflowing with His life, His presence, and His love.

I’m not saying that God won’t ever bless us in physical, earthly ways. He may. But that’s not part of the guarantee.

7 “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for.
Keep on seeking, and you will find.
Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.
8 For everyone who asks, receives.
Everyone who seeks, finds.
And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.
Matthew 7:7-8

Isn’t it exciting to think that what God, the creator of absolutely everything, wants most from us is simply - all the love we have to give? And in response, He’ll return that love with so much completeness that we won’t want for anything else!

Now that’s a promise!