Psalm 37:4

"Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart." (Psalm 37:4, NIV)

I've heard this verse often.

I've believed this verse.

I've loved this verse.

Sometimes.

That verse has also frustrated me.

And made me mad.

Depending on what is going on in my life, that verse can be one I love or one I wish I didn't have to hear or read again.

It sounds so simple and straightforward. Almost a cause and effect kind of situation. If you do one thing -in this case: delight yourself in God - the other will happen - in this case: He will give you the desires of your heart.

But the reality is that it doesn't always feel like this is the case. It sounds so simple, but living it doesn't seem to be quite so simple.

I often wrestle with why it's so difficult. As I've done this, I've begun to wonder if it's because what we think are the desires of our heart really aren''t.

What if we're confused about our real heart's desires? What if the things we think are our heart's desires are actually just things that are covering up our real heart's desires?

Obviously, God won't give us the desires of our hearts if they go against what His Word says. That's why the first part of the verse is so important. We have to delight ourselves in the Lord first, so our desires can be transformed into things that are pleasing to God.

But what about when we're already doing that and our desires are good things - things that line up with God's Word? Why do we sometimes seem to have to wait for the desires of our heart to be fulfilled? Or sometimes wait and never see them fulfilled?

As much as I don't like the conclusion I've come to on those questions, I don't see any other way to look at it. In those times we have to choose to trust that God knows best and that He has something better in store for us that wouldn't happen if He gave us the desires of our heart we're seeing as unfulfilled currently.

"Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart." (Psalm 37:4, NIV)