PSALMS 37:1 Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong; 2 for like the grass they will soon wither,
like green plants they will soon die away. 3 Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. 4 Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. 5 Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: 6 He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. 7 Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. 8 Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil.
We all have desires, don’t we? Without desires, we wouldn’t accomplish much in life. Our desires not only determine the direction of our lives, they also reveal our motivations and priorities. Even God has desires. For instance, He desires that all men be saved 1 TIM 2:3....God our Savior, 4who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. If something is His desire for me, it must be the best. Even when He allows suffering and pain, He desires for me to trust Him more and grow spiritually through it.
This is a mis-used scripture, isn’t it? "God said He’d give me the desires of my heart...I want a new car!" We need to understand this...we can have wrong desires.....and if your desires are wrong, then you won’t feel fulfilled when you achieve them. And you may, by hard work actually achieve wrong desires. If you work enough overtime and miss church and time you could be spending with your family and with God, you may actually be able to buy that new car. Ask yourself, If I get what I want, will that leave me satisfied or empty? The Bible says, "Seek, and you will find," but God will only give you what is in His will.
Do you have a desire to be rich? 1 TIM 6:9People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. Well....what does it profit a man.....?
How about the temptation of worldly desires? TITUS 2:11For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. 12It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age
Sometimes we might have ungodly desires that corrupt us. 2 PETER 2:9 the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment, while continuing their punishment. 10This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the sinful nature and despise authority.
You may even have Sensual and fleshly desires. Big problem for Christians (and everybody) these days. 2 PETER 2:18they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of sinful human nature, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error.
Ask yourself, If I get what I want, will that leave me satisfied or empty? Is this really what will make me happy? Have you ever known someone (or maybe yourself) that said "if I can just get this new job, I’ll be happy"...only to be disappointed because it wasn’t what they thought it would be? maybe you worked really hard for something you were sure would make you happy..it didn’t.
What are God’s requirements for getting your desires met? Vs 4 of our text says ...Delight yourself in the Lord. What does that mean? I hope this a good example....what about a husband delighting himself in his wife? I would say vise/versa but not sure of the response! Listen, I love my wife and I delight in her. I miss her when she goes to Wal-Mart. I want her with me as much as possible. I would never do anything to embarrass her (well, not on purpose, anyway!) Why? Because I delight in her. I enjoy spending time with her. I want to please her. It’s the same with God. Don’t do things that embarrass or displease Him. Spend time with God, walk godly, and ask Him how you can bring Him honor and glory through your daily life.
Vs 5 says to Commit your way to the Lord. Acknowledge His authority over your life. He IS in control. No matter what you may think or even do, God is sovereign and even though you might lose control of your life, God never will. His plan for your life will be the best. Commit your life to Him. He has plans for you!
Vs 3 tells us to Trust in Him.Unless you trust Him, you won’t commit your life to Him. If you trust God, you will obey Him. If God doesn’t answer your prayers, trust that He has a good reason. When you manipulate and sacrifice for wrong desires, you won’t enjoy them as much when you get there. Trust that whatever the circumstance, He is aware and there is a purpose!
Vs 7 tells us to Rest in the Lord. Resting is the opposite of fretting. Fully depend on Him. Understand this...resting or waiting doesn’t necessarily mean just sitting there twiddling your thumbs. You still need to do your part, but the difference is you are relying on God, not your ability. Has fretting about anything in the past ever made it better for you? Of course not. When you fret about something, you are not in agreement with God.
We all need to learn to Wait patiently for Him. ISA 40:31But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. Waiting says, "I’m trusting You, God." Waiting patiently means we lay down our attempts to get what we want. If we knew what God knows, we’d be willing to say, "God, I’ll take what you want to give." This is the hardest part of our Christian walk...waiting. Yet the Bible says that if we can persevere and wait, the rewards are awesome. He will renew our strength whenever we think we can’t go on. What do you think it means "we shall mount up with wings as an eagle?" I think it means we can fly higher than ever before. I sing a Ronnie Hinson song "Higher than I’ve ever been".....one line says that "I’m flying so high now that I can’t see the tops of the trees!" WOW! We shall run and not get tired, we shall walk and not be afraid....these are the things God has in store for us. Teach me Lord. teach me Lord to wait....and not try to run ahead of You! After all, "Christian" means follower of Christ. Why do you suppose we try to get ahead so much? We want to lead and have Him follow...but that’s not how it works, is it? Desire to follow Him.
Those who are willing to wait patiently get the best. Ask yourself, Am I manipulating, murmuring, arguing, complaining? Or, am I willing to say "no" to fretting and simply rest in God and watch Him work? Be wise enough to let God give you what He wants you to have, when He wants you to have it, and you will never regret it.
The desires of all our hearts should be to please Him. We owe Him everything. He gave us the free gift of salvation. We need to understand that while it is free, it wasn’t cheap. There was a high price to pay for our sin....we all know what the wages of sin are... and we need to thank God that He sent His Son to redeem us.We weren’t ready to pay that price....Jesus did. And now we have the honor and privilege of serving and obeying Him. It should be the desire of you heart to please and follow Him.
