Psalm 37:3-4
“Trust in the LORD, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.” (NKJV)
“Keep trusting in the Lord and do what is right in his eyes. Fix your heart on the promises of God, and you will dwell in the land, feasting on his faithfulness. Find your delight and true pleasure in Yahweh, and he will give you what you desire the most.” (TPT)
In full transparency, for much of my young life, I misunderstood and therefore misused this scripture. I translated “He will give you the desires of your heart” to mean that, much like Santa Clause, I could give God my list of wants, and He would give me my greatest desires. Who wouldn’t want that? Want a new car? Poof! Enjoy this jet-black Porsche 911. Would you like a new house? Who wouldn’t? Poof! Here’s a 2 story Tudor on 3 acres with rolling streams and chocolate fountains. (This is where you tell me that you misunderstood too and did the same thing thus making me feel better.)
But no, this scripture is quite different than my selfish and immature understanding.
In Psalms 37 David instructs us to do something that is totally out of phase with the prevailing, self-centered culture. He says to “trust in the Lord, feed on His faithfulness”, and delight ourselves in Him. David writes that when we do this, Yahweh gives us the desires of our hearts. This means that Yahweh will place into our hearts His desires which displaces our desires. What a change of heart! Imagine a life where we walk with the Creator and focus on Him all the while partnering together on things that our hearts share together. I am almost beside myself knowing that the Father and I can share desires.
If you are on a path to Heartland similar to mine, you are being called deeper. You are being asked to be set apart. The problem is that often my heart’s desires are just that . . . they are my heart’s desires and not His. But we can turn that around. Join me in asking the Father to increase our desires for Him and His Kingdom while decreasing our appetite for things of the world. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you how to delight in Yahweh and how to trust in Him. Make sure that you are “feeding on His faithfulness” and not on any old meal that the world serves up. Do these things and watch your heart’s desires change!
Scott Wood