The Desires of Your Heart?

The Desires of Your Heart?

Psalm 37:1-8;39-40

“Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” (vs 4) What a wonderful promise from God’s Word.

Psalm 37 reflects the fact that there’s nothing new under the sun (Ecc. 1:9). This world has always been a place where the wicked seem to prosper and the righteous are tempted to fret.

David writes, beautifully, poetically, pastorally... but not naively. He does not deny reality... life can be, often is, hard. We all face difficulties and trials. As we talked about last week, Jesus knew troubles in this life, and he told his disciples, “in this world you WILL have tribulation.”

Our Psalm today, especially verse four, is often quoted but frequently taken out of context, and/or misapplied.

God’s Word is not a blank check... or some kind of spiritual “loop-hole” or “short-cut.” It’s not a formula to be manipulated into fulfilling our personal ambitions.

God’s Word offers us a profound invitation into the re-formation of our hearts before God.

“Delight Yourself in the LORD.”

It doesn’t read, “IF you delight yourself in the Lord,” or, “WHEN you delight in the Lord.” NO... It reads as an imperative! Not a suggestion—but a command. To delight in the Lord isn’t about our emotions, our feelings... it about living in-out the covenant. To delight in the LORD is to treasure Him as our supreme and only good.

In Reformed theology, we understand that by nature our hearts are disquieted, disturbed, unsettled. Because of sin, we do not naturally delight in the Lord... we naturally delight in self (in Adam’s fall we sinned all)... and if left to our own devices, we’re prone to delight in created things more than the Creator. (Romans 1:25)

And because of fallen, self delighting nature... the call to “delight in the Lord” drives us to grace. Because only a regenerated heart can truly delight in the LORD. As Augustine famously prayed, “You have made us for Yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You.”

We live in a restless world because the vast majority of those in this world have yet to delight in the Lord!

To delight in the LORD is:

To find joy in His character...

To trust His providence...

To love His Word...

To rest in His sovereignty...

The fact is: when you and I do these things... “He Will Give You the Desires of Your Heart”

Now listen: This does not mean God endorses every desire we already possess. Rather, it reveals something far deeper: God reshapes the desires of those who delight in Him.

When the LORD becomes our delight:

We find ourselves loving as God loves. Our goals and ambitions become holy, and Christ honoring. Our prayers become more and more aligned with God’s Will for our lives.

John Calvin said some 500 years ago, that God does not indulge our sinful cravings but “forms our hearts so that we desire nothing but what is right.” That means, the promise is NOT that God submits to our will, but that our will is brought into harmony with His.

In other words, God gives us the desires of our heart by first giving us a new heart.

Of course, all of this leads us to Jesus. Our delight is found, and fulfilled, in Christ. Not only did Jesus delight in the Lord... Jesus’ desires were entirely aligned with the Will of the Father.

That’s why, when you and I are “IN CHRIST”... when we’re in union with Christ:

We are given new affections...

We are freed from enslaving desires...

We are “re-made” to desire what glorifies God.

Christ is not merely the means to our desires—He is the desire. All other longings find their proper place when He is supreme. The Psalmist (73:25) cries out, “Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides You.” When we can say that - and mean it! - we can rest assured we’ve been given a new heart that reflects the desires of Christ.

Maybe we should ask ourselves:

What truly delights my heart?

Where do I turn for joy, security, and meaning?

Are my desires shaped by the world (by the ways of this world/by the things of this world) or by communion with Christ?

This psalm calls us to trust God’s timing, God’s wisdom, and God’s goodness! It’s not about getting what we want; it is about wanting what God gives.

When the LORD is our delight, we find we’re satisfied/contented... even when circumstances are hard... because God Himself is our joy, and peace, and comfort. He is truly, enough.

Amen.