Hearing His Voice #137

Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you your heart’s desires.

Psalm 37:4

Every human being on the planet has desires, and everyone longs for them to be fulfilled. In fact, this is what motivates most people. We are by nature desire driven. Many Christians want to mature beyond this dynamic and become truth-driven beings, and that’s a valid goal. But even when we learn truth and base our lives on it, we still have desires. God has wired us to work that way. The real goal of our faith is not to get rid of desires, but to align our desires with God’s purposes.

Whether Psalm 37:4 means God will fulfill our desires or plant the right desires within us may be a familiar discussion, but the outcome is the same: When we delight ourselves in Him, there’s an alignment between our hearts’ desires and the outcomes in our lives. That’s what we want—an end to the frustrating gap between desire and fulfillment, that never-ending sense that whatever we really want isn’t going to work out. That gap has led many to view God as someone who gives us only what we need, not what we want—sort of like that great-aunt or -uncle who skips over all the fun items on your Christmas list and gives you socks because that’s what you really need. But is that really God’s heart?

No, God works through our desires. We have to use discernment, but chances are the long-lasting desires that are consistent with God’s purposes are from Him. He wants us to dream with Him, so He speaks through our dreams and desires. That does not mean that all our desires reflect His voice. We may have plenty of passions that are misplaced or misinterpreted. But the core of our desires is most likely rooted in a godly impulse, and when the dream takes the right shape and persists over time, it will direct us toward God’s purposes.

Notice what you dream about. God’s voice is in it somewhere.

Lord, You are the fulfiller of my heart, not the denier of it. Shape my heart to desire Your will. Put Your dreams within me. Speak through the longings that excite me most.