The Desires of Your Heart

 

Those who know God intimately discover that He provides everything they truly need.

Psalm 37:1-5

We love the promise in verse 4 of today’s passage: God “will give you the desires of your heart.” Unfortunately, when we focus only on receiving gifts, we miss the psalm’s context—namely, that our cooperation is needed. 

The first requirement for receiving the desires of our heart is that we delight in God (v. 4). His highest priority is our relationship with Him—He wants to give us Himself more than anything else. We are to take pleasure in communing with the Lord and serving Him, and over time we’ll begin to appropriate His ways of thinking. 

The second requirement of this promise is that we commit to His plan (v. 5). Following God’s path restructures our heart’s desires until they look like His. Now, sometimes what God provides appears different from what we requested. But He always answers our appeals based on His infinite knowledge and great love. He bestows the perfect answer to our prayer, whether it’s what we asked for or not. 

Remember, God wants to grant our requests, but His greatest joy is a relationship with us. Seeing our heart’s wishes fulfilled is simply a byproduct of delighting in God and committing to His way. The real reward is a relationship with the God who offers to share Himself with humanity.