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“Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.” (Ps 37:4 AV)

This verse is often misunderstood and preached as though God has a blank check or checks for us to simply write whatever it is that we desire and He will grant it.  Or, if we simply love the LORD with all our hearts, then whatever our minds can conjure up, the LORD will grant it.  This is not so.  In this verse, we see a relationship with delight in the LORD and the desires which our hearts may have.  If we delight ourselves in the LORD, then our desires will reflect that.  If we delight ourselves in the LORD, then our desires would match His.  We cannot ask for whatever is on our hearts and expect the LORD to give us those desires if we first do not delight ourselves in Him.  We often think of this verse as the LORD withholding the desires of our hearts when we do not delight ourselves in Him as a means of correction.  Which certainly can be the case.  However, if that is the only way in which we think of this verse, we can assume that if we love the LORD then the desire we have when we do not delight ourselves in Him will be granted once we do.  Again, that may not be the case.  What we do know is if we delight ourselves in the LORD, then His desire becomes the desire of our hearts and thus unequivocally granted.

I am having fun training my dog.  He heels well.  I can walk him without keeping the leash taut.  He stays right with me.  There is a skill that he is picking up that will soon be a part of his lifestyle.  I am teaching him directions.  Right and left are becoming something he understands.  This is really helpful.  We walk at a pace where if he didn’t understand which way I was going to turn, I may end up tripping over him.  When we come to a stop and he must sit, he looks up at me and waits for the next command.  Those who have dogs can understand this.  We can see the animal’s anticipation as he awaits his instructions.  He doesn’t look at you with neutral eyes.  He looks at you with eyes that say, “what can I do for you, now?  I want to make you happy so my tail wags.  Tell me what to do because I am happy when you are happy.”   At least that is what my Toby tells me.  Above all other dogs that I have had, my Cavalier is in tune with my state of mind.  He can read me like a book.  He knows how I am feeling and reflects that feeling.  Whatever I want from him, he tries desperately to accommodate.  The desire of his heart is the desire of my heart because he wants to be my best friend.

Not that we are dogs, mind you.  But there is a reason God gave Adam dominion over the animal kingdom.  There are parallels that can be inferred.  As a beast seeks to please his master, the saint should delight in the LORD that our purpose in life is to please Him.  If that is the case, then what He wants, we would want, too.  David is fretting over the treatment he is receiving from his enemies.  However, in that state of mind, he realizes his eyes are on himself and not on the LORD.  He asks for relief.  As well he should.  As he asks for relief which he knows the LORD will give him, he reflects on where his heart truly is.  Does his heart yearn after God more than it does relief from his enemies?  If he did, then fretting would not be the result.  Our desires go unanswered for several reasons.  One of which is our heart’s desires.  If we delight in the LORD, then all our heart’s desires will be what God desires and we can take comfort in the certainty they will come to pass.