August 31st, 2022
How many of you have ever wanted something? I’d say all of us would say yes. Did you know that there is a promise in the Bible that God will give us those things? Psalm 37:4 says,
“Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”
This is a powerful scripture that actually flies in the face of a lot of modern theology in the church. Most of us are comfortable with the fact that God promises to give us what we need, but many of us struggle with the idea that God will give us things we want. However, the truth that God is a good Father and desires to bless His children is reiterated in Scripture over and over again!
The word desire in that verse actually means more than just a “want.” It actually means a request or petition. The Bible tells us in James that we “have not, because we ask not” (4:2) God wants us to ask Him for things! However, the verse that follows sheds a lot of light on why there are unanswered prayers:
“You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly to spend it on your passions. You adulterous people!” (James 4:3)
From this, we understand that the verse in Psalms 37:4 doesn’t mean we can just ask God for whatever we want and receive it so that we can we lazy and content and do whatever we want. God isn’t a genie in a bottle that we get to make requests of like He owes us something. This is why all of the promises of God have an if attached to them. That verse says delight yourself in the LORD before it says He will give us the desires of our heart. Receiving what we want is directly correlated to first finding our delight, our joy, and our heart’s pursuit in HIM.
Now, this doesn’t mean that the meaning of the verse changes. God still desires to give us what we want, here on earth. Isaiah 1:19 says, “If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land.” God wants us to have the good of the land, but our hearts have to line up with His desires in order to receive it.
In our flesh, there will be wants that don’t line up with the word of God. Ephesians 4:20-24 says,
“But that is not the way you learned Christ!— assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”
Our old selves were corrupt through deceitful desires. However, when we get saved, we become new creatures and our minds and hearts are renewed by His Word. When we walk in His Word and His Spirit, wanting what He wants will come naturally! Galatians 5:16-17
“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.”
Walking by the Spirit is the answer to making sure our desires are aligned with Him and if we know that we are in Him, we know that He wants to give us the desires of our hearts! In 1 Samuel 1, we find the story of a woman named Hannah who wanted something from God. Hannah was the wife of a man named Elkanah, who loved her very much. She had everything she needed, but she couldn’t have children, and she was grieved. 1 Samuel 1:7-8 says,
“Therefore, Hannah wept and would not eat. And Elkanah, her husband, said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep? And why do you not eat? And why is your heart sad? Am I not more to you than ten sons?”
Hannah would not be comforted though and sought the Lord. She was praying in the temple one evening and the priest saw her in distress, and actually thought that she had been drinking!
“And Eli said to her, “How long will you go on being drunk? Put your wine away from you.” But Hannah answered, “No, my lord, I am a woman troubled in spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring out my soul before the LORD. Do not regard your servant as a worthless woman, for all along I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation.” Then Eli answered, “Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition that you have made to him.” And she said, “Let your servant find favor in your eyes.” Then the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad. They rose early in the morning and worshiped before the LORD; then they went back to their house at Ramah. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and the LORD remembered her. And in due time Hannah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Samuel, for she said, “I have asked for him from the LORD.” (1 Samuel 1:14-20)
Now, Hannah didn’t need a son. She was cared for by her husband. He had promised to provide for her. She had everything she needed. However, she wanted a son and God heard her prayers! This week, I want to remind you that God wants to give you the desires of your heart as you delight yourself in Him! So often, we forget what it means that God is our Father. He is our King, our Lord, the Creator of the Universe, the Alpha, and the Omega, but He’s also our Father, and fathers love to give gifts to their children (Luke 11:13). The Bible actually tells us that it’s God’s good pleasure to give us the kingdom! Are there things in your life that you haven’t asked God for, or you stopped asking God for, because you hadn’t seen the answer come to pass? I want to encourage you to seek God again. God is a good Father and the desires of your heart, as you delight in Him, are His desires too!
“Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”
This is a powerful scripture that actually flies in the face of a lot of modern theology in the church. Most of us are comfortable with the fact that God promises to give us what we need, but many of us struggle with the idea that God will give us things we want. However, the truth that God is a good Father and desires to bless His children is reiterated in Scripture over and over again!
The word desire in that verse actually means more than just a “want.” It actually means a request or petition. The Bible tells us in James that we “have not, because we ask not” (4:2) God wants us to ask Him for things! However, the verse that follows sheds a lot of light on why there are unanswered prayers:
“You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly to spend it on your passions. You adulterous people!” (James 4:3)
From this, we understand that the verse in Psalms 37:4 doesn’t mean we can just ask God for whatever we want and receive it so that we can we lazy and content and do whatever we want. God isn’t a genie in a bottle that we get to make requests of like He owes us something. This is why all of the promises of God have an if attached to them. That verse says delight yourself in the LORD before it says He will give us the desires of our heart. Receiving what we want is directly correlated to first finding our delight, our joy, and our heart’s pursuit in HIM.
Now, this doesn’t mean that the meaning of the verse changes. God still desires to give us what we want, here on earth. Isaiah 1:19 says, “If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land.” God wants us to have the good of the land, but our hearts have to line up with His desires in order to receive it.
In our flesh, there will be wants that don’t line up with the word of God. Ephesians 4:20-24 says,
“But that is not the way you learned Christ!— assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”
Our old selves were corrupt through deceitful desires. However, when we get saved, we become new creatures and our minds and hearts are renewed by His Word. When we walk in His Word and His Spirit, wanting what He wants will come naturally! Galatians 5:16-17
“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.”
Walking by the Spirit is the answer to making sure our desires are aligned with Him and if we know that we are in Him, we know that He wants to give us the desires of our hearts! In 1 Samuel 1, we find the story of a woman named Hannah who wanted something from God. Hannah was the wife of a man named Elkanah, who loved her very much. She had everything she needed, but she couldn’t have children, and she was grieved. 1 Samuel 1:7-8 says,
“Therefore, Hannah wept and would not eat. And Elkanah, her husband, said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep? And why do you not eat? And why is your heart sad? Am I not more to you than ten sons?”
Hannah would not be comforted though and sought the Lord. She was praying in the temple one evening and the priest saw her in distress, and actually thought that she had been drinking!
“And Eli said to her, “How long will you go on being drunk? Put your wine away from you.” But Hannah answered, “No, my lord, I am a woman troubled in spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring out my soul before the LORD. Do not regard your servant as a worthless woman, for all along I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation.” Then Eli answered, “Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition that you have made to him.” And she said, “Let your servant find favor in your eyes.” Then the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad. They rose early in the morning and worshiped before the LORD; then they went back to their house at Ramah. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and the LORD remembered her. And in due time Hannah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Samuel, for she said, “I have asked for him from the LORD.” (1 Samuel 1:14-20)
Now, Hannah didn’t need a son. She was cared for by her husband. He had promised to provide for her. She had everything she needed. However, she wanted a son and God heard her prayers! This week, I want to remind you that God wants to give you the desires of your heart as you delight yourself in Him! So often, we forget what it means that God is our Father. He is our King, our Lord, the Creator of the Universe, the Alpha, and the Omega, but He’s also our Father, and fathers love to give gifts to their children (Luke 11:13). The Bible actually tells us that it’s God’s good pleasure to give us the kingdom! Are there things in your life that you haven’t asked God for, or you stopped asking God for, because you hadn’t seen the answer come to pass? I want to encourage you to seek God again. God is a good Father and the desires of your heart, as you delight in Him, are His desires too!
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