The Desires of My Heart
Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4 NIV
“Mommy buy me that Storm Trooper hat, please, I want it!” These have been the words of my 4 year old boy ever since he saw that white Star Wars Storm Trooper voice changer helmet at Target. He loves Star Wars and has had a fascination with Storm Troopers for quite a while so it came as no surprise that he is obsessed with having this helmet.
As a mom, there is a part of me that wants to rush to Target and get it for him right now. I want to give him everything he desires – after all he is only a child once and I want his childhood to be memorable. Yet I know that giving him everything he wants is NOT in his best interest. Sure, there will be plenty of opportunities ahead to give him the helmet. We have a Disney vacation coming and I’m positive that the strategically placed Star Wars store at the exit of the Star Tours ride will be loaded with those voice changing helmets. I’ve thought of buying it now, hiding it and taking it to Disney to give him there (because we all know it will cost a good $10-20 more at Disney). Besides, Christmas is only a few short months away. Even though he wants instant gratification right now – it is in his best he learns to be patient and wait.
This may be a very small glimpse into the heart of our heavenly Father. We all beg and plead with Him to give us our desires. Sometimes He does. Sometimes He waits. Sometimes He tweaks our desires to bring them in accordance with His will. Sometimes He tells us no.
I read a great little booklet a few months back by John MacArthur called, Found: God’s Will. In this brief book, John MacArthur outlines six principals in helping us know God’s will and purpose for our lives. Briefly they are:
1. God’s desires us to have salvation – that He be the Savior and Lord of our lives.
2. God requires us to be spirit filled.
3. God requires us to be sanctified – living a life or purity.
4. God requires us to be submissive to His Lordship and obedient to His Word.
5. God require us to suffer for the sake of the gospel
6. God gives us the desires of our heart – do whatever we want!
Obviously in the confine of this devotion I cannot explain all six of those principals. Basically, John MacArthur teaches that if our lives line up with what the Word teaches and we are following Christ as taught in the Bible then God himself places those desires in our heart. This isn’t a magic formula to get what we want out of God, it is bringing our desires in the will of His so that we can discern what the Lord wants us to do. Its learning that God gives us His desires not Him giving us our desires.
John MacArthur gave a beautiful example of a man who felt called to the mission field. He had the ability to speak French and felt the Lord leading him to France. As he sought MacArthur’s counsel and they discussed his life being in line with the above six principals which it was. So MacArthur advised him to get ready and let God bring together all the details. It turns out, the guy ended up being a missionary in a French providence of Canada!
I love that story. I cannot answer specific questions as to why bad things happen. This seems like such a simple formula and I believe that it is. Still, even in the midst of serving the Lord things happen. We live in a fallen world and sometimes we will face trials.
I wrote in the past about a local church here in town losing their senior pastor and his son in a plane crash. Just three short months later, this same church has lost their minister of music and worship to a sudden heart attack. He was 47 and left behind a wife and two children as well as a church still grieving the lost of its pastor. I can’t answer how that lines up with God’s will because it is beyond my understanding of the grace and goodness of God. I just know that if I don’t trust in Him, my life would be void and useless.
Finding God’s will may be simple if we live in obedience to His word and trust Him to give us the desires that He has for us. Understanding His will requires much more faith and trust. So whether God tells you yes, no, yes instantly or wait and be patient – trust that He is sovereign and is able to do so much more than we can image.
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us. Ephesians 3:20
Dear Lord, Your will is my ultimate desire. Thank you for the times you have said “no” and lead me in a different direction. I pray that my life will be obedient and holy before You so that my desires will be in accordance to your will. Just as we all did three months ago, Lord, I lift up the congregation at Bell Shoals as they now grieve the loss of a pastor who helped them as they grieved for their Pastor. Help us to grow in your grace and trust in your sovereignty. Amen.
enjoyed this post, when i have more time I’m going to read further in your blog. good thoughts! truths!
Denise
Bless you for sharing this.
Renee,
Wow, this is unbelievable. I am so sorry for your church family and the families of these men who serve God. The Lord must have wanted these men with Him sooner than later. It is so difficult to even begin to understand these losses. But, I loved what you said….Its learning that God gives us His desires not Him giving us our desires.
This is absolutely the truth. Thank you for sharing your heart. I love you my friend. Hugs, Lynn
Oh.my.goodness, Renee. I am so with you – we sometimes just don’t understand His ways. But we do have to trust in His will for all of us. I am so sorry for the congregation in your town though – who had so many losses in the past.
Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom with us.
Renee, what a great post. Once we BECOME who God intends for us to be, He will put the things in our paths to do. Then, and I believe only then, we see His will with clarity. I suppose it helps to see God’s will when we aren’t squinting to see God because we are too far away. 🙂
Great post.
What a great post. Being in a church that was uprooted over a year ago, my heart goes out to that hurt congregation. It will take time. We don’t understand, but I guess that is where our Faith is sharpened the most.