Desires of the Heart

This week we celebrate Thanksgiving – a holiday of gratitude.  I was thinking about that today and how cool God is.  Scripture tells us again and again that God gives us the desires of our heart.  If those heart desires are sinful, Romans 1 says that He “gave them over” to them.  Ecclesiastes 6:2 says, “God gives a man wealth, possessions and honor, so that he lacks nothing his heart desires, but God does not enable him to enjoy them, and a stranger enjoys them instead. This is meaningless, a grievous evil.”  But sometimes what our heart desires is Him, and He is quick to answer. Psalm 37:4 instructs us, “Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.”

So whatever desires reside in our heart, those are the ones that He’ll give us.

I got to thinking about my time in His Word, and the time I spend in prayer.  If I take the larger principle (that God satisfies the desires of my heart) and apply it to those times with Him, I am struck with an amazing truth.  God will give me the desire of my heart in that moment.

I don’t know about you, but sometimes my bible study and prayer time feels like a discipline, much like physical exercising.  I know there are those of you who really like physical exercising (I hate you…), but I don’t.  I don’t get the endorphin high that I hear others talk about.  I’m glad after I’ve done it, but there is no part of me that enjoys actually doing it.  I have to force myself to do it and come up with as many distractions as possible to get through it.  While the discipline of prayer and bible study isn’t bad, I have to admit that sometimes I just have to do it because I know that I should.  Even when I don’t feel like it.  If I’m going to be honest, the desire of my heart at that point is to be obedient and git ‘er done.  When I approach my time with Him with this motivation, He does indeed give me the desire of my heart.

But there are other times when I approach the throne of God with heartfelt anticipation of basking in His love and showering Him with my love.  I can’t wait to open His precious Word and hear His speaking voice.  I’m eager to be filled with His wisdom, power, peace, joy and compassion.  When my heart is filled with those desires, God is quick to give them all to me in abundance.

What desires will you fill your heart with as you approach your time with Him today?