Sometimes we forget the Lord’s purpose will always prevail despite our best plans and ourselves.

You can have the desires of your heart

Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart (Psalm 37:4). 

Nothing seems further from where America’s values are headed than what this verse instructs us to do.  We are encouraged to delight ourselves in ourselves by obtaining what we want even if we can’t afford it, to do what we want if it feels right, and to change foundational truths if it confirms the way we want to live. 

Solomon tells us in Ecclesiastes that living this way (apart from God) is “all meaningless.”

Although Gideon found his desires to be in line with those of the Lord, he was shown the Lord accomplishes His desires in unique ways, by fighting tens of thousands of men with 300.

If I let all of you fight the Midianites, the Israelites will boast to me that they saved themselves by their own strength (Judges 7:2).

Oftentimes, God works in unusual ways from what we expect, plan or desire for this very reason—that we will not be able to boast we did it by our own strength and ability.  If we are successful in accomplishing our desires in the way we planned, our mortal tendency would be to believe it was because of ourselves, not of God.

In order to truly worship and serve God in the way he created us to, our focus won’t be on our own wishes and our own ways, but rather on his.  In addition, our dissatisfaction won’t come from not getting what we want, but rather from not fully living out our lives for the Lord. 

If we spend each day with a heart of gratefulness, acknowledging the little, often unnoticed, blessings in our life, we will start to appreciate the goodness of the Lord and begin focusing on what we have rather than what we don’t. 

God promises he will give us the desires of our hearts; however He asks us to delight ourselves in him.  It is through consistent gratefulness for all things that we will grow to see how God is working.

The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever (1 John 2:17).

Whether you are a man who has lost everything, a single adult feeling as if you are missing out on something, someone who has just lost their enthusiasm for life, or a sawdust-filled animated donkey, there is hope.  Our days are not gone, our plans are not shattered, and we can have the desires of our heart.

May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed (Psalm 20:4).

Cliff Young is a contributing writer to Sandlot Stories (ARose Books), as well as the monthly column, "He Said-She Said," in Crosswalk.com's Singles Channel.  An architect and former youth worker, he now works with Christian musicians and consults for a number of Christian ministries. Got feedback?  Send your comments and questions to CYdmg@yahoo.com. 

**This article first published on June 11, 2009.