Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Patience”
Our Bible verse for today: “Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37:4 (NIV)
Our thought for today: “Be patient as God fulfills the desires of your heart.”
Psalm 37:4 is one of those Bible verses that make preachers and Bible teachers uncomfortable. Some are tempted to claim that it doesn’t really mean what it appears to say, and so they tap dance their way through some silly explanation that sounds better to their ultra-conservative fundamentalist ears. Desire is evil, right?
No, wrong. “Misplaced” desire can lead us into evil, but desire itself is not inherently bad. In fact, God created us with desires. As Saint Augustine famously explained, God created us with an empty place in our hearts that can only be filled by His Holy Spirit. That then creates a desire in the heart of every human being for spiritual fulfillment.
Many desires are good. Another example: God has created each of us as unique individuals who are specifically gifted by Him for certain tasks and activities. Therefore you may have within you a great desire to express yourself musically, or through art, or in writing. Likewise, you may have an analytical mind that finds pleasure in mathematics or science and therefore your desire, and your sense of fulfillment, is found in those things. That’s how God created you and therefore those desires are good.
Unfortunately many people – under the mistaken assumption that desire is bad – restrain, hinder, or even snuff out the pursuit of their desires. In his book “Journey of Desire” John Eldredge wrote:
“We abandon the most important journey of our lives when we abandon desire. We leave our hearts by the side of the road and head off in the direction of fitting in, getting by, being productive, what have you. Whatever we might gain – money, position, the approval of others, or just absence of the discontent itself – it’s not worth it. “What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Matthew 16:26”
While we do have to act responsibly in that we have to have jobs, and support our families, and pay our bills, etc, that doesn’t mean we can’t also pursue our music, or our writing, or whatever else it is that really floats our boat and fills our heart. Those things are from God and God wants to help us fulfill those desires. But we have to be patient and we have to give Him the chance. Far too often we surrender our desires in favor of practicality and we never get back to the business of pursuing that which is most important to us.
If you have a God-given desire in your heart, something that is deeply a part of you and which you long to fulfill, I encourage you to not get impatient and give up on it. Yes, you have a job so you can earn a living; and by all means take care of your family and live up to your responsibilities; but don’t surrender your desires either.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 