Psalm 37: 4-7a

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 do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him…”

How many of us would be willing to allow the Lord to peek into our heart, ever so slightly, that he would be able to see what is truly the desire of our heart? Would it be a joy to say, “Lord come on in to my home and let’s visit a while.” Or would you be embarrassed, frightened, possibly even ashamed to know that the outer shell which you present to those around you, is not really in sync with what you think and feel “deep down inside!”

The other day I stopped to think about what these verses in Psalm 37 mean when it says, “Trust in the Lord…Delight yourself in the Lord…Commit your way to the Lord…and he will do this…” Isn’t it amazing that the desires of one’s heart before the Lord will determine the value of one’s trust and commitment in the belief of their living God? The desires of one’s heart, when centered out of pureness and upon the Lord, will always begin with the spiritual desire to please God Himself! It truly excites me to realize the freedom I have when I can delight myself in the Lord to the point of fully desiring to please Him. When I’m in a place of surrender, I begin to desire different things according to his will and purpose. Desiring to see a loved one or a dear friend come to know Jesus; desiring to walk the walk of faithfulness; desiring to love those who are unpleasant toward you…these are big things. But we can also desire smaller simpler things such as desiring to wake up early in the mornings to just spend time with God, turning the TV off at night and reading His Word, or asking God’s Holy Spirit to be more a part of our daily life as we learn to listen and respond to His leading.

At the same time, the desires of the heart may also refer to those spiritual deficits that hold us back from moving forward into the very Presence of the King. At that point, the desires of our heart could be that the Lord provides us the strength and power we need to remove that which keeps us from growing closer in our relationship with Him.

For instance, it could be your desire for the power of God’s Holy Spirit to take away whatever is keeping you from becoming more Christ-like every day. I often ask myself, “How did I lose the deep anger of my teenage years as I became a believer? How was I able to stop the drug abuse that was such a deep part of my life as I entered into this new relationship with Christ as a young adult (many years ago)? How did I put jealousy and impatience aside that was so prevalent in my life? How did I desire to grow in my walk and faith in Christ?” Scriptures tell us, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13). Only THROUGH Christ. It was by reading the Word of God, calling on the Holy Spirit, and desiring to put into action the very things God was asking me to fill my life up with. It was desiring for Him to become Lord of my life with all my heart as I knew I was so unable to get from point A to point B on my own. Again, only THROUGH Christ. My inner most being was crying out for forgiveness and grace. I wanted change in my life so desperately. I needed a transformational change, not of my own, but the kind that only God’s grace could provide. Yes, it was by being “transformed by the renewing of my mind” through God’s Word (Romans 12:1-2) and by delighting in the Lord (Psalm 37:3). Then He will do this. He will give you the desires of your heart when your heart desires Him alone.

To those of you beginning on this faith journey or to those who have slowed down the pace but now desire to get back into the race, I can confirm that by trusting and delighting in the Lord and by committing your all to Him, then, out of his goodness he brings the desires of your heart to pass. I came to know of His Holy Spirit who allowed me to experience one victory after another and I received the power of overcoming sin in my life piece by piece. An immeasurable amount of gratitude and awareness of his presence began to come alive in me. Is that something you desire right now, today? The Apostle Paul tells us in Colossians 3 that we are to “Put to death [starve, mortify] whatever belongs to your earthly nature…” and then in a few verses further he tells us that “as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience…” You see, the very things from the days of my youth that were destroying me from within were the very things I had to desire for God to take away…to change deep down inside. This is what is called “sanctification”… allowing God’s Holy Spirit to do a good work in you which is an ongoing process throughout life. It’s a cleansing of the old and bringing in the new (2 Corinthians 5:17). It was a matter of my desire to put off the earthly nature and then cover myself with His spiritual clothing (Galatians 3:27).

So, what are the spiritual desires of your heart?

Remember, He is a living God who is able to meet all of our needs right where we’re at. It doesn’t matter if you’re standing in sin right now while reading this, or if you have drifted away from your relationship with Him, or if you want a greater faith to trust in Him more…He is there ready to receive you just as you are (He will do the rest)—you just have to delight in the Lord and desire it from deep down inside, and He will do this… He will bring it to pass and the God of peace will be with you. Find that pastor or that Christian mentor if you need guidance. “If the Lord delights in a man’s way, he makes his steps firm; though he stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand” (Psalm 37: 23-24).