“Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart”
I have heard this verse quoted a hundred times by people who are seeking to know God’s will. I have heard it as a promise that as a Christian, God will give me what I want. I have even heard it held to desperately by those clinging to the idols of their heart.
“If I…..than God will…..”
—this verse does not justify manipulation!
What’s the difference between the word “delight” and the word “desire?”
- Delight is what makes me happy.
- Desire is what I want.
It has nothing to do with getting my way.
It has nothing to do with snaring the guy I want to like me.
It has nothing to do with a promotion.
It has nothing to do with miracle healing.
It has nothing to do with the American dream.
It has everything to do with a promise,
The promise that God is enough,
That He is sufficient,
That all of this really is true just as we were told.
It is possible for Him to satisfy our desire—all of it. And He offers that, not teasingly with the intention of snatching it away the moment He captures out interest. But He gives it, unhindered, unrestrained.
The focus of this verse is not that WE delight in him, but that we delight in HIM. We delight in Him, and He gives us the desire of our heart. Quite simply—He becomes the desire of our heart.
4 comments:
Thanks for the reminder, Heather! Those verses have become very dear to me this summer.
I have definitely been in the guilty party in the past as far as manipulating that verse goes:) I mean:(
Piper has much to say about this verse. It has nothing to do so much with us getting the desires of our wicked sinful hearts, but rather that we would delight in God and make HIM the ultimate desire of our heart. Good thoughts, Heather.
That's odd... I basically said what you said. Did I, Noah Frost, just summarize what someone else said? Wow.... God is still in the business of miracles.... Good thing it only happens late at night on little sleep! lol
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