The Desires of my Heart?

• Psalm 37:4 (MSG)
• Psalm 37:5 (MSG)
• Psalm 37:6 (MSG)
• Psalm 37:7 (MSG)

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In my opinion, easily one of the most over-used and taken out of context verses in the Bible would be Psalm 37:4:

"Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." (NIV)

"Get insurance with God and do a good deed, settle down and stick to your last. Keep company with God, get in on the best." (The Message)

I love the way The Message versions interprets that - "keep company with God, get in on the best" - that's good stuff. The reason I feel it to be overused or taken out of context is because in all of my years of hearing people reference this verse, I have never heard anyone continue to verses 5 & 6:

"Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him and He will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun." (NIV)

"Open up before God, keep nothing back; he'll do whatever needs to be done: He'll validate your life in the clear light of day and stamp you with approval at high noon." (The Message)

Ahhh... there's the clincher. Are you committed to God? What really are the desires of your heart? Think your prayers aren't being answered? Are you frustrated with God because you aren't getting what you're asking for?

Well, what is it exactly that you're asking for?

It took me YEEAARS to comprehend this concept in the proper way. If the desires of my heart are not for God's intentions, what do I really expect to happen? However, the more that I delight in the Lord - or open up before God, the more that my desires will become His. If my desires are His, then I may just find myself seeing more of my prayers answered.

I have also learned to come to terms with seasons and God's timing, which is where the first part of verse 7 comes in handy:

"Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him..." (NIV)

"Quiet down before God, be prayerful before him..." (The Message)

So, if we are aligned with God and seeking first His kingdom in our lives, it's possible that what we are asking for may not be what we're ready to receive. This is the hardest one to come to terms with; at least it has been for me. As I write this, I have yet to see a few of the things I most often ask for, but I think that God is still working on the parts of me that will both enable success and bring Him glory if and when these things are realized.

Why spin the tires on something temporary that offers a diminished return? What God wants for us is so much bigger than we can imagine. It's worth so much more than anything we can dream up and seek out.

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