Deep Desire
One of the most important lessons I have learned in approaching the Bible is to believe what God has spoken and to understand that nothing written is arbitrary in its meaning and purpose. God is not a motivational speaker attempting to provide a pep talk to pump us up or cover over the reality we are facing. His word to us is not a parent giving a child ice cream that takes away the sting, it is the solid food that delivers to us substance and strength, peace and provision, hope and healing! 1 Peter 1:23 says, “For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.”
It is this focus which has one particular verse on my personal and pastoral radar. Psalm 37:4 says, “Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” I have been personally holding onto and contending for God to deliver the deep desires within me. I have also been encouraging and speaking this promise over people waiting for answers to those things near and dear to their hearts. I am convinced that God inspired David to write and sing these words as a good confession of what is sure to come. God did not have this written just to make us feel good or to have a distant dream that never quite comes into view or reach. His words are not flippant and His promises never fail! In Matthew 24:35 Jesus declared, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.”
The difficulty with believing and hoping for such God made promises is the disappointment we have felt from others. A parent who did not spend time with us; a boss who passed us over for a promotion; a dream home that went to another buyer; a long-time relationship that fizzled or fractured. Far too often these crippling experiences have caused us to brace for a “no” rather than believe for a “yes”. Romans 5:5 tells us, “And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” Take time now to revisit and reclaim the real desires in your heart and the rich promises from God’s Word. What He has spoken to your heart, He can supply to your life. The best is yet to come and it will be far better than you even realize!