There is one thing that all people (regardless of race, age, gender, or even religious belief) have in common–and that is desire.
What I mean is, every person has something they really want. Of course, motive is something entirely different… but let’s assume we’re talking about genuine desires like a child wanting a bike for his birthday, or a young wife wanting a baby, or even a family’s desire for a new home or a husband’s desire for a better job.
Many times, when desires go unfulfilled, the result is depression, sadness, disillusionment, and/or grief. But what if I told you, legitimate desires should produce the opposite effect? Let me show you.
“Trust in the Lord, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass. He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday” (Psalm 37:3-6).
This is quite a promise! God has said in his Word that HE will give YOU the desires and secret petitions of your heart. Many people have read this and interpreted it to mean God will just give you any desire. But when you think twice about that, you know this can’t be the true meaning because many quote/unquote “desires” are not godly. BUT… like the ones I mentioned earlier, MANY DESIRES ARE FROM GOD.
“And He shall give you the desires of your heart…” The word give here doesn’t mean to hand over. It literally means “to place.” In other words, God “shall [place in] you the desires of your heart…” And this understanding changes everything! The devil has worked overtime in discouraging people concerning unmet desires by whispering thoughts of “Where’s God?” “What’s wrong with me?” “Why can’t I shake this?” I’ve even gone so far as to ask God to remove a desire from my heart because it hurt so bad to have it there and nothing ever come of it.
But once I realized the truth about this, my frown was turned upside-down! Watch this… God said, “Delight yourself in [Me], and I will [place in] you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to [Me], trust also in [Me], and [I, God] will bring them to pass.”
My whole countenance changed when I understood it was GOD who put the desire in my heart in the first place. And because I already loved God, it was easy to commit my way to Him and trust Him–knowing at some point, HE WOULD BRING IT TO PASS.
And I have to mention how this promise is sandwiched between two amazing scriptures. For one, verse three reminds us to stay faithful to God because He is faithful to us. But then verse six says, “He’ll validate your life in the clear light of day” (Message Translation). This is one of the bonuses of our righteousness in Christ.
So please be encouraged today. I have no doubt there is a secret petition in your heart. But I hope you have some new understanding that God put it there as part of His plan for your life. All you have to do is commit your way to Him, trust Him, and watch Him bring it to pass!
Unfulfilled desires can hurt. But your frown can be turned upside-down with this one Truth.
