Delight Yourself In The Lord And He Will Give You The Desires Of Your Heart

It sounds so simple. It seems like God is saying He'll give you what you want most.

It's not as simple as it may appear. Nobody (who goes around touting this verse as a means of getting stuff) talks about the fine-print.

For one thing, there is a lot of waiting involved.
You want something and ask God to give it to you and then you wait - sometimes for a very long time - and one of two things happens. 1) God gives you whatever it is you wanted. 2) He doesn't.

Wait a minute! I thought it said He WOULD give it to you! Does it? No!!!
It's says, "DELIGHT YOURSELF IN THE LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart. That is a conditional promise. God will give you the desires of your heart, IF you delight yourself in Him.

Okay, so say you are delighted in the Lord and you want something, and you ask it of Him. Again, there is a LOOOOOT of waiting. Again, one of two things will happen. 1) God will give you what you ask for. 2) He'll change the desires of your heart.

Sometimes, in our own understanding, that seems like a cop-out on God's part. But it sooooo isn't. The Bible says the He longs to give us the things we want, just as a parent longs to give their children the things they want. But the truth is: children do NOT always want what is best for them.

God, in His loving grace, understands our hearts and desires, but better and more importantly, what it is we really need. He knows exactly what will happen if we get the things we so desperately want. He perceives the outcome of our wishes being granted. And He wants what's best for us. Not what will give a moment's pleasure, but what will satisfy our souls. What will give us a hope and a future.

Jeremiah 29:11 says, '"For I know the plans I have for you," sayeth the Lord, "plans to build you up and not to tear you down; to give you a hope and a future."'

Now, I know that He was saying that to His 'chosen people' the Jews. But I really think He meant it for everyone that belongs to Him. This means that He knows the future, He wants us to be happy in the future as well as now. He understands our hearts and what He has planned for each of us individually. He wants to make us happy for the rest of our lives. And He knows how to. We don't.

If we are delighted in the Lord, He will give us the desires of our hearts BECAUSE we want what will glorify Him - what will make us happy for all of eternity.