God Will Give You the Desires of Your Heart When Your Heart’s Desire is Him

¹ Do not fret because of those who are evil
or be envious of those who do wrong;
² for like the grass they will soon wither,
like green plants they will soon die away.

³ Trust in the Lord and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
⁴ Take delight in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Forsake Fretting

David instructs us to stop fretting when we think of people who are prospering because they are engaged in evil.  He reminds us that God will soon bring them to justice:

• Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.
• When justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous but terror to evildoers.
• ⁷ “And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? ⁸ I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

Truly Trust

David instructs us to trust in the Lord.  His life is a glowing example of how He continually trusted in God, regardless of his circumstances.  We can easily become discouraged when we experience sorrow, loss, severe trials, and unending pain.  David faced these and more.  Here David is faced with being stoned by those who were following him when their wives and children were abducted by the Amalekites:

³ When David and his men reached Ziklag, they found it destroyed by fire and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive. ⁴ So David and his men wept aloud until they had no strength left to weep. ⁵ David’s two wives had been captured—Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel. ⁶ David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the Lord his God.

Godly Good

We are instructed to do good as well as to trust.  God is good, and we are His image-bearers.  How much more so should we be acting like the one whose image we bear!  We should not only think good thoughts, but translate them into action.  As our minds become transformed through the Word of the Living God, we will be able to test and approve His good will.  This will display itself in how we live, and what we do.  Action should always follow thoughtful direction and intention.  Otherwise, it is merely platitudes and mental trophies – pretty, but worthless.

Decide to Delight

Here is the true test: what or who do we delight in?  Many find that delight in physical pleasures – food, entertainment, dancing, thrill-seeking, intimate relations with another person (and sometimes themselves), etc.  David tells us that we should delight ourselves in God.  He should be the one that brings us joy and fills our heart with gladness.  When we go to our “happy place”, it should be where God is found, in a deep, highly intimate, spiritual way where we engage Him with our deepest inner self.  David shares with us that when we do this, God will give us the desires of our heart – Himself!  What a precious promise of God!

A Qualifying Question

Let’s ask ourselves a question:  Are we delighting ourselves in God rather than fretting about how the wicked get ahead?

A short prayer of preparation:

Father in Heaven, it is truly distressing when I see wicked people prosper as they oppress the righteous and steal from the poor.  It is hard to not get bitterly angry at them, especially when they have been placed in authority over people.  And when they are caught, they are not only not brought to justice, and allowed to continue to continue in their ways, they are even protected by the very ones who are placed by You to ensure that justice is served.  Thank you Father for reminding me that I need to delight myself in You.  Help me to keep my eyes upon You, draw my strength from You, and remind myself that You are a Just and Holy God, and that every unrighteous act will receive justice, whether from the blood of Jesus, or through eternal torment in the lake of fire.  Strengthen me this day as I look out into the world that I will be able to look up instead, see Your perfect face, and receive comfort in it.  Fill me with Your Spirit, and overwhelm my heart with Your peace that today, I will be able to do Your will.  Amen.

Want more?  Why not try A. B. Simpson or A. W. Tozer?