My Heart's Desire

Delight yourself in the Lord,
    and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the Lord;
     trust in him, and he will act.

Psalm 37:4-6

I’ve known for a long time, that “and he will give you the desires of your heart” is not about God granting me my 3 wishes.  And in fact, when this truth was revealed to me, I was thrilled to find that God has such a great plan.  He will stir in my heart, the things he wants me to desire. 

That’s a crazy good idea.  Way better than my ideas.  Thanks, God.

So especially in times of big decisions, I ask God to “give me the desires of my heart…”  I ask him to change my heart, if need be; move me to desire what he would have me want.  I ask him to lead me to his will for my life right now. 

But maybe I need to look a little closer at the surrounding verses.

What does it mean to “delight yourself in the Lord”?  Am I doing that?  Is that a deal-breaker?

After doing some searching online and in the notes in my study Bible, I feel like God is saying “What did you think you would find?”  I might be overanalyzing this one. 

Take delight in the Lord’s ways!  What are those ways?  It’s not a secret.  Let’s start at the top: Love your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your might.  And love your neighbor as yourself. Matthew 22:36,40

My husband and I have been doing some reading on how to be married to each other.   We’ve been learning some things about what it means to be married and, hopefully, in love.  It means you do a lot of communicating.  It means you are more concerned about the other’s desires than your own.  It means you think of them first.  It means you want to know them, in an intimate way – like you know no one else. 

This is the kind of relationship God wants with us.  He wants us to desire him.. seek to know him like we know no one else.  He wants us to communicate with him (and that’s a 2-way street, by the way).  He wants us to seek him first, consult him first, be concerned about his will for us.  Because his plan is best. 

I’ve got access to him in a variety of ways, all day long.  If I truly want him to plant desires in my heart, I’m going to have to be sure I’m delighting in him.  I’m going to have to make 

sure I’m seeking him... giving him facetime… checking in with him regularly. 

Lord, would you make that my heart’s desire?

Dear Lord, we seek your face, and your will for us.  We ask that you would continue to reveal yourself to us.  Move us to read your word regularly, so that we can know you better.  Move us to go to you in prayer constantly, asking for your help first.  Move us to seek out your will in every aspect of our lives.  We ask these things boldly, Lord.  Allow me to “commit my way to you.”  Amen.