Experiencing God's Presence #248

You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing.

Psalm 145:16, NKJV

I was going through some of the toys my son has outgrown, reminiscing about each one before putting it in the giveaway pile. Most of them had teeth marks and other signs of being fully enjoyed. All of them brought back images of playtime on the floor, and I realized that these cheap chunks of plastic were precious to me. Why? Because they had been precious to him.

God promises to satisfy the desires of those who love Him, fear Him, and delight in Him. We know that doesn’t mean every whim, as some people seem to think, or on the other hand only every basic need, as other people assert. Somewhere in between, in the places of our heart where we have deep longings and lasting desires, God opens His hands and meets them. He doesn’t often fulfill them immediately, nor does He always fulfill them exactly as we expect Him to. But He does care for the things we care about. The things that are on our hearts are on His. Certain things become precious to Him simply because they are precious to us.

Avoid the error of two extremes on this issue. We can’t dictate our desires to God and expect Him to satisfy every one of them, just as kids can’t demand every passing wish on their Christmas lists. But we can’t be too dogmatic in our declarations that “God will give you what you need, not what you want.” According to Scripture, He often gives us what we want. When we are filled with Him, our desires and His provision begin to line up. The treasures of our hearts and the treasures of His heart begin to overlap, and our desires begin to be fulfilled.

Lord, You know the desires of my heart. My prayer is that You will fulfill the ones You want to fulfill and remove the ones You don’t. Strengthen my longings that fit Your purposes and let all others fade away. Let my heart be satisfied.

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