The Desires of Your Heart

This is a great question and one many of us have probably pondered or asked ourselves at some point in
our lives—"How do I know if the desires I have are from the Lord or from my flesh?" I go to church,
study my Bible, seek wise, godly counsel and pray, yet, at times, I still can't distinguish what the origin of
my desire is. I think many of us have wondered if a particular desire is from the Lord or is just something
of our own making.

As we search for answers, we can sometimes make the mistake of reading into a situation thinking it must
be God's will since "it" hasn't happened yet.

• If God wanted me to be happy, I'd be happy.

• If God's wish for me was to be healed, I'd be healed.
• If God's desire for me was to have this, I'd have it.

Don't fall into the trap of living your life as negative "absolutes" (or the "Eeyore syndrome"). This is part
of the enemy's plan to distract us, discourage us, and not live our lives focusing on the goodness of God.
 accepting things as they come.

In our search for a biblical perspective to this and other questions, we must be careful to always read a
passage as written and in context. Psalm 37:4 does not say, "He will bring you the desires of your heart
so delight in the Lord," but rather, "Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your
heart."

It's easy to skip to the latter part of this verse since that's where the "good stuff" is—when WE receive the
desires of our heart. However, oftentimes we never get to that part because we are searching with the
wrong wants and motives and not living for him.

Preceding and following Psalm 37:4, the Bible says, "Trust in the Lord and do good. Then you will live
safely in the land and prosper" (verse 3); "Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him and he will
help you." (verse 5).

These are conditional statements. Trust and do, then… Commit, trust and (then) he will…. We must be
obedient to his Word (period) and He will decide the rest. I used to read the Bible as a contractual
partnership between me and God. If I do this, then he will do what I want. He (and "it") doesn't work
like that.

The Bible says we are to trust him, do good, delight ourselves in him, commit everything we do to him,
then we will live safely and prosper, then he will bring you the desires of your heart, then he will help
you.

I don't believe he gives a desire, takes it away and then maybe gives it back. He is not a wishy-washy
God.

I believe most Christians probably want what God wants for them, but often in their own time frame and
as long as they have final approval. However, if we learn to be more obedient, love him more, love
others more, we will grow closer to understanding who he is and begin to discern what his desires are for
us.

If we focus and live our life in order to delight in the Lord first (instead of ourselves), our desires will be
in line with God's desires, which will be his unimaginable best for our life.
I believe that if we are seeking God's will for our lives, that he will shape our desires and direct our hearts
toward what he wants us to yearn for, to be excited about or ultimately to do in our lives (Proverbs 3:5-
6). But when it comes to timing, it's a bit of a mystery, isn't it? God works in ways that are many times
not expected and other times are just not very understandable at all to you and I (or to our family or
friends who may be praying right along with us for whatever we are desirous of in our lives).

When I think of someone in the Bible who greatly desired something and prayed and waited and waited
and waited, I immediately think of Hannah (1 Samuel 1). In this case, while her desire was not for
marriage but for a child, I think we can still learn from her example.

What made Hannah's circumstances difficult was the fact that her husband Elkanah was married not only
to Hannah but to Peninnah—and Peninnah had children, while Hannah had none. I am sure this must
have been frustrating for Hannah to see a picture of motherhood right in front of her day after day after
day. Also, the Bible tells us that Peninnah "kept provoking her in order to irritate her." So, imagine that,
if you will.

Hannah's suffering at the hand of her rival continued, year after year. Her husband even tried to comfort
her. "Hannah, why are you weeping? Why don't you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don't I mean
more to you than ten sons?" We also read how Hannah poured out her heart to the Lord in the temple.
And then later, we see that Hannah did conceive and gave birth to a son named Samuel whom she
dedicated to the Lord (just as she had promised she would do).

So what can we take away from Hannah?

• She had a strong desire, and she didn't discount it or ignore it.
• She endured suffering and didn't retaliate.
• She continually brought her requests to the Lord.
• She poured out her heart, she wept and she was honest.
• She gave what she wanted (and was given) right back to God for his purposes and his glory.

But while holding on to this desire and seeking God's will for our lives, circumstances might not
always be the best and people might not always be kind or sensitive or considerate when you desire
something in your life and have not yet seen it come to fruition.

You know, I read in one commentary that during Hannah's time, it was seen as a curse from God if a
Hebrew man's wife could not conceive a son (as in, who would carry on the family name?). Also, it was
seen as a curse when a woman was barren. So it sounds like Hannah was feeling the societal and cultural
pressures that you might be feeling as well. And like you may be doing today, she grieved for something
she wished she had in her life, too.

How long, oh Lord? How long?

I don't know "the point" when you will know. Instead, you must keep your eyes focused on him and you
must be honest with what is going on in your heart (don't ignore it, don't negate it, just give it to God).

Believe me, I know that keeping a perspective like that is not easy. You don't just pray one prayer and …
poof! … you no longer ever struggle or question or feel bitter about something you desire for your life.
We must daily turn our minds to Christ, yield our lives and ask him to help us focus on him and not our
circumstances.
 Always Write Your Plans in Pencil
Are your plans working out? Are you frustrated and perhaps even a little angry at God because your
goals are falling short or disappearing altogether? What is going on?

How about writing our plans?

In a "Harper's Bazaar" article Martha Stewart recently said, "Life is too complicated not to be orderly." I
couldn't agree more. To stay focused on complicated tasks there is nothing like a good list.

God even uses lists. The Ten Commandments is a great example, and the Sermon on the Mount also
gives us a wonderful list to consider. Once you start looking for them, the Scriptures are full of places
where God gives us lists. In all my years of Bible study and career up's and down's I finally learned one of
the most significant lessons of my life. God wants us to make plans.

Prepare plans by consultation, And make war by wise guidance. Proverbs 20:18

The plans of the diligent lead surely to advantage

But everyone who is hasty comes surely to poverty.
Proverbs 21:5

He is an organized God, and He likes it when we organize our lives - especially when our organizing is
done in order to obey, serve, and please Him and bring glory to His Son, Jesus Christ.

But just making the list of plans wasn't my significant lesson. The most important thing I learned as I
went through various trials in my life was, "Never use a pen to make your list." There is absolutely
nothing permanent about our lists.

The mind of man plans his way,

But the Lord directs his steps. Proverbs 16:9

God wants man's mind to make his plans, but the Lord keeps the prerogative of overriding any plan that
doesn't conform to His sovereign will. As we list our plans and goals we can't see into the future. We
can't even see how God may want to use us to accomplish His purposes in the people around us. So, as
we go through our lives God has the right to change our plans.

Isn't that what it means for Him to be "Lord"? Anyone who has gone through a long period of
unemployment has experienced how the Lord can take our lists of desires, hopes, dreams, and rewrite
them to match His plan for our lives.

Jeremiah 29.11 clearly states that God has plans for His people. But He doesn't necessarily give us the
details in advance. In fact, He has never given me the details in advance! When He called Abraham to
leave his home the Lord basically said, "Start traveling; I'll tell you when you get there (Genesis 12:1)."
Abraham might have made a list of plans and even potential destinations but God wrote in the details -
making changes where He saw the need.

As we walk through our lives we should definitely make our plans, make our lists, but we should write
those plans in pencil - so that as God leads us through the daily details and reveals His desires, we can
easily make adjustments. Just erase that next item and pencil in a new plan based upon how the Lord is
leading. Making plans and setting goals and then demanding that God honor and fulfill them or else
doesn't allow for His will to take us where He desires. It is important for each of us to acknowledge that
God is not required to live up to our expectations. Rather, we are commanded to live up to His.

Changing the plans of life when written in pencil is much less stressful than when we cling to our list of
goals as if they were written in permanent marker. May God bless you as you daily adjust your plans to
match up with "the way" God is leading your life.

Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go

to such and such a city, and spend a year there
and engage in business and make a profit."
Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow.
You are just a vapor that appears for a little while
and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say,
"If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that."
James 4:13-15

Commit your works to the Lord And your plans will be established. Proverbs 16:3