In verse 4 the psalmist writes “Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” I once interpreted that as saying “believe in me and I’ll give you whatever you ask for.” Not anymore! For one thing, there have been enough times when I confessed faith in Christ, only to see my request denied. As my teenage son might say, “Epic Fail, Dad!” More importantly, however, I’ve grown into another interpretation of that verse. I now believe that when I willingly submit to God’s will, then God takes away my selfish desires and replaces them with righteous ones. God literally gives my heart new desires, and then (not surprisingly) proceeds to satisfy them (often in some rather surprising ways!) Since the new birth in Christ I experienced in 1997, I’ve seen a few vocational dreams fall by the wayside. Rather than lament their loss, I’ve found I no longer desire those things anymore…I actually want different things now, to follow Jesus where He leads me. I still frequently backslide, but things that were so important to me years ago no longer command my attention. And this is no mere happy-talk in the face of disappointment; this is a radical re-ordering of my priorities by Holy Spirit, who deserves all credit. Epic Success, Heavenly Father!
Prayer: Gracious Lord Jesus, help each of us every day in our respective, and collective, journeys of faith, so that our selfish pursuits might be redirected into a passionate desire to serve you alone. Amen
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