God will give us the desires of our hearts

[rockswillcryout]

Every day God places desires in our hearts.

Every day, the world places desire on our hearts.

The latter may or not be sinful. But they are two important distinctions to be made.

Scripture says God will give us the desires of our hearts "Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. - Pslam 37:4) and I would thinkg this especially so if that desire was one God placed on our hearts.

My devotion this morning was about how faith is holding out your hand. And that sometimes Gd doesn't fulfill our wants because he knows better. And a big part of faith is accepting that.

But what of those desires that will never be filled?

Why would God place a desire in our hearts that will never be filled? What is the value in that? The lesson learned, certainly. But after the lesson is learned, why doesn't the desire go away? If you ask and ask and the desire still remains, why must we be put through continual disappointment?

I've been going through a bible study by John Stott on The Beatitudes. Jesus teaches us that we will be blessed. Then why are we not always blessed with the desires of our heart - the desires He give us? The desires He so promises?

Food for thought...

[WayneB]

The desires of our heart are HIS desires for us IF HE truly lives in our heart.

[rockswillcryout]

So are you saying that a person who has a desire that God gave them, that isn't fulfilled, that Jesus doesn't truly live in their hearts?

What about my friend Rochelle and Seth, who want to have a baby and they have been trying for 4 years and haven't succeded?

What about my friend Lisa who wants to be married and is 33 and still single?

These are people who have accepted that it may never happen for them and trust God anyway. But they feel their pain and longing isn't being eased. They want to know why.

I think it's a legit question.

Edited July 23, 2004 by rockswillcryout

[Dad Ernie]

Greetings Rockswillcryout,

1 Peter 4:19 Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.

1 John 5:14-15 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: 15 And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.

You may want to do a Bible search on "doing the 'will of God' ", such as Jesus praying: "Yet not my will, but thine be done."

HOWEVER, we are given a parable about hounding God until we get what WE want. Practical experience, at least for me, has shown me that what I want is not always the best thing for me, but what God wants FOR ME, is always for the very best. And it is not always God or Satan that puts desires in our hearts for particular things, often times, it is just because we ourselves determine WHAT WE WANT, and then to justify that, start placing the blame on someone else.

You may want to study the various characters of the Bible and see what THEY have had to go through. Start with Joseph.

Blessings,

Dad Ernie

[WayneB]

So are you saying that a person who has a desire that God gave them, that isn't fulfilled, that Jesus doesn't truly live in their hearts?

I think it's a legit question.

Not necessarily. My reference was more to a total and complete surrender to Christ, something that all of us who have received Christ are working towards.

Dad Ernie responded beautifully and the Scripture that came to my mind, he already quoted. [1 John 5:14] Dad Ernie.

When we place out complete trust in HIM and have confidence that he will provide for our every need, only then will we desire those things that HE knows are best for us. There is a difference with having the Spirit dwell within us, a result of our accepting God's Gift of Grace, and turning over every aspect of our lives to HIM, a process of our sanctification. I know...easier said than done.

By the way, excellent question. Maybe the real question is who do we serve? HIM or ourselves?

Be Blessed,

Wayne

[Guest LadyC]

yes, if we live in obedience to God, He will always give us the desires of our hearts. i don't necessarily believe that to mean he will give in to every whim we have, every trivial desire, every worldly desire...

for example, is the desire of your heart a brand new shiny pickup truck? God may not grant that one.

is the desire of your heart to marry joe millionaire? he might not grant that one either.

but...

is the desire of your heart to have adequate transportation to be able to transport you to and from your place of employment? i bet that one will be granted!

is the desire of your heart to marry a man who is rich in spirit, rich in compassion, rich in love, regardless of his bank statement? i bet that one will be granted too.

i think it's all a matter of what we consider the desires of our heart!

[One Way]

What about my friend Rochelle and Seth, who want to have a baby and they have been trying for 4 years and haven't succeded?

Did Rochelle use hormonal contraception for any given period of time previously? I know many people who have had trouble conceiving due to the use of hormonal contraceptions used previously in life.

Sometimes it is the practical areas that we overlook.

[Guest LadyC]

seems i focused on the origional question and not the subsequent ones...

What about my friend Rochelle and Seth, who want to have a baby and they have been trying for 4 years and haven't succeded?

is rochelle and seth's desire of their heart to have a child produced from their own DNA? or is the desire of their heart to have a child that they can love, nurture, and train up in the way God wants him/her to grow?

perhaps God has a child in mind that needs a loving home with parents just like seth and rochelle! maybe it's one that they produce on their own... or maybe it's a child that someone else left on a 'safe-haven' doorstep. again, the point is, what is the desire of their heart, and is that desire God-centered, or self-centered?

anyone ever heard of the radio host "delilah"? she couldn't have children. she was barren. but she had such a love for children that she and her husband adopted... not just one, not just two, but TEN children.

and then she got pregnant!

What about my friend Lisa who wants to be married and is 33 and still single?

is lisa focusing on her own criteria for a man? and is she desiring that God bring her a husband within a specified amount of time? or is she focusing on letting God be her husband until He brings her the very best He has in store for her? God can't be put in a box, limited by our concept of time... God may have a specific person in mind for her, but He may not be quite finished shaping the man into the Godly husband He intends for the guy to be to lisa... or maybe He's not quite finished shaping lisa into the wife the man needs...

in my late twenties, early thirties i finally gave up on getting married again, and asked God to be my husband. when i'd become not only comfortable with that, but content with that, i found such peace! eventually the day came again when i decided there's just some areas of my life God couldn't fulfill... the physical intimacy between a husband and wife. so many well meaning christian friends said to make a list of all the qualities i wanted in a mate... right down to the colour of his hair and eyes. i figured that was ridiculous. i'd spent most my life begging God for this guy or that guy that caught my attention, and when i'd get into relationships with them, they were all wrong! so i finally asked God to bring me His very best for my life. six months later, He did... and 7 months after that, we were married. had mark and i married five years sooner, i don't think either of us would have been mature enough yet (even in our thirties!) to stick it out through the hard times.

it's only when we submit our will to God, and let the desires of our heart become the desire for God's best, that we can be positive that the desires of our heart will be granted!

i don't have all the answers, but i have learned that answer through a lot of trial and error!!

[Dad Ernie]

Greetings LadyC,

Your answer was beautiful and right on. Before I married my current wife (my second), she had resigned herself to celebacy, even as did I, and she too looked to God to be her husband. My experience was similar in that if He didn't provide a wife, I would devote myself to Him and Him alone. THEN God did the impossible and provided us with one another.

We have a friend who has been seeking really hard to find "the right man", but after many years now of going through several boyfriends and potential candidates, she remains single. My wife has told her on more than one occasion to commit herself to God as a wife to a husband, and let God decide if she were to have a mate. So far, she hasn't accepted that, even though our own experiences testify to God's faithfulness in providing a mate. There are just too many verses that reveal that we "need" a mate, and God will honor His Word, IF one HONORS Him.

Blessings,

Dad Ernie

[Guest PreachIt]

Deu 11:13 And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul,

Mat 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

Will God give us the desires of our hearts?

Of course, but we are to desire only Him.

Luk 14:26 If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.

Phi 4:11 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.

2Co 10:5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

***into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;***

1Co 11:1 Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.