‘Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your hearts.’ Ps. 37:4
There is always more to learn about joy. New revelations in scripture. Even the passages we know so well God can open up and show us, like we’ve never seen them before.
This verse from Psalms is a favorite verse for many of us, I believe. It’s a great promise. But it also gives us something to do, to get the promise, right? At least I thought so for many years. I read this verse like it was a trade-off. If I do this (delight myself in the Lord), He will do this (give me the desires of my heart). But the more I got to know God, the more I understood that it doesn’t work that way. There are no ‘deals’ to be made with God. He is kind and loving and He gave His only Son, so we could get a way back to the Father’s arms and gain eternal life, just by believing in Jesus. But He is also God. His ways are not our ways. We can’t earn His love or His blessings.
As much as He desires to bless us – like any loving Father would bless His children – He also wants what is best for us. The plans He has for our lives are so much higher than we can imagine. They are for our good, but they are also for His glory. He wants us to trust Him and be all in, no matter what.
Going deeper
So, my perspective on this verse changed a bit over the years. I started to see how my desires became more aligned with His, the more I got to know and love Him. The more I truly and freely could delight in Him – with no agenda to get something – the more my heart was melted to His. The ‘desires’ I thought I had, suddenly didn’t matter as much. Especially when it came to material desires and wants, which always seemed to sneak in there somehow.
I even remember a revelation He gave me about this once. I was living in a small room with no running water and a shared bathroom. I have lived in many different places in my life, so I didn’t think much about it. I just made it work, like I did anywhere else. But somehow, I started seeing how people around me would get new cars, new houses, new TVs and a bunch of other material things that were totally beyond me. I started to wonder how my life could ever be a testimony to them. Would anyone want to live for Jesus, when they compared their own lives to mine? My life certainly didn’t look very blessed in comparison.
Even before I had really formulated the question to God, He broke in. (I love when He does that – answer a question, before we can even ask it!) He said: ‘Kristina, your life is a much greater testimony to the people around you, when they see that you can be joyful and at peace without all those things. Joy and peace are the true desires of the human heart. Many people just try to obtain that through material things. But it rarely lasts for long.’
God will always provide what we need. But so often we can be tricked into thinking we want or desire something, that doesn’t really matter. Back in high school, I knew God but I wasn’t walking that closely with Him. Still, He was moving in me. I was at a party one night, and somehow my brand-new cell phone, that I liked a lot, got stolen. When my friend asked me about it, out of my mouth came these words: ‘Oh well, I couldn’t take it with me to Heaven anyway.’ That was totally God sharing His view on the situation.
Even deeper
So, the more we can fully delight in Him, the more our desires become aligned with His. But can we go even deeper in this verse?
About six months ago I had a moment in worship, where I felt completely content and satisfied in Him. I was fully surrendered and my heart was filled with such joy, it was almost overwhelming. Nothing else mattered. Nothing else registered in that moment with Him. All I wanted was to be in His presence.
And right there it hit me! The fulfillment of the second part of this verse had already happened. I guess I always saw it as a promise that would happen over time. But in that moment, when I did the first part of the verse (fully delight myself in Him), the fulfillment of the second part happened! (He gave me the desire of my heart).
In the deepest parts of our soul, the only longing that really matters is our longing for Him. We are created with a sole purpose, to love and be loved by Him. Everything else comes out of that. Many desires and longings are just symptoms of a deeper longing – to be loved, valued and seen by the One who is love. The One who created us for Himself.
Of course, He desires to give us good gifts and this is not to take away from any promises He has given. But when we can truly and fully delight ourselves in the Lord, in such a way that nothing else matters, we can see and feel that He has already given us the deepest desire of our hearts – Himself!
