Purpose Through PainSample

The Desires of My Heart

Working in a stressful environment like corporate always causes major sugar cravings. I remember one day oddly, I really wanted chocolate. This is very unusual for me because I don’t typically eat chocolate, and it’s not really my favorite guilty pleasure. 

After a meeting, my friend and I headed to the snack stash to indulge in a popular chocolate bar. As we walked to the drawer, what had previously been filled up with chocolate bars, was now completely gone! How many times in life have we gone to familiar places to find something we needed to fulfill a desire? We go to relationships to find unconditional love or jobs to find fulfillment, and when we seek them out, we come up empty and unable to satiate the true desires of our hearts. 

One thing I noticed about Psalms 37:4 which reads, “Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart,” is that when you find your pleasure in God, He ends up changing your desires. When you delight in Him, His desires become your desires. 

Because I couldn’t find the chocolate, I went to someone on my floor who always knew where the chocolate was. I quickly lamented to him about how all the chocolate was gone. I knew he knew where the chocolate was because I often saw him go to the stash and get candy. I saw him do it so much that I started too. Every time I would see the chocolate he liked, I saved one for him and put it on his desk. 

Delighting in the Lord requires sacrifice. A part of us needs to give Him our time and our devotion so that we can understand His ways. Just like I knew the ways of someone I worked with, when you spend enough time with God, you will start to understand how He operates. When you understand what gives Him joy, you can give Him what He desires. Just as I gave my co-worker chocolate because I understood that was something he appreciated, we should look to God’s word to see the things He loves. God loves our faith; He loves our worship and praise. When we spend time with Him, we start to recognize what brings God joy, and we can offer it to Him. 

Before I had a chance to ask, my coworker invited me to take some chocolate from his stash because I always left chocolate on his desk. When I went to take it, he ended up giving me a handful of the EXACT chocolate I was looking for. 

God says in His word in Luke 6:38, “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." This is even more relevant when it comes to giving to God! When you give to God, He will bless you far beyond what you thought you even could ask for. Before you even open your mouth, He will give you the desires of your heart because He knows our hearts. Seek to understand God, give to Him and watch the blessings flow down from heaven and out of you! 

Prayer:

Dear Jesus, 

I must believe that You will give me the desires of my heart. Lord help me desire what You desire for me. Help me to delight in You. 

In Jesus' name, 

Amen