I’ve been thinking a lot…

(Shocker, right?) about desires. wants, dreams and hopes. 

Let’s start with this:

Psalm 37: 4 Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

So this verse is awesome. But it confuses me just a bit. The desires of my heart? But my heart sucks. I want things that are bad for me, I want things based upon my current lack of patience and contentment. I want quick fixes and easy way outs. My heart is (Jeremiah 17:9) “deceitful above all things and desperately sick…” 

So this (Psalm 37:4) can’t mean, Delight yourself in the Lord and he’ll give you whatever it is you think you want. The Lord is the only thing that satisfies our souls. He is the missing piece in our hearts, the piece that makes it work properly. If we delight in him, or allow ourselves to be satisfied by the almighty creator of all things good, what’s left to want?

My heart thinks it wants this, it thinks it wants that, it thinks it wants her. But God knows what I truly want, what I truly DESIRE. And its him. He is the only thing that completes, he repairs me and takes me from being broken and alone to loved and adored. Its like, Delight in the Lord and he will give himself (The true desire of your heart) to you. 

Awesome. 

Now, here’s the problem I continually run into on my way down the endless road of loud and potentially dangerous thoughts: I know this, I know God is the desire, but my stupid self continues to long for other things. My head, my heart and my soul get out of sync. One or the other forgets and I get messed up. (This is most-likely why reading God’s word, committing to fellowship with other believers, church, worship and prayer are best at a highly frequent level. To keep me in check, to help me remember what I don’t want or can’t afford to forget)

Now, lets look at this: 

Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

So what if the things I want, the things I dream, daydream and fantasize about (effortlessly) are honorable, pure and lovely? What about the desires in this world that I have because they’ll in one way or another help me get closer to the Lord and/or serve him? Is it ok to want these things?

I like to think to this verse a lot:

Philippians 4:11 ”…I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.”

I like to use it (A Bible verse) against myself sometimes. (A sentence that probably doesn’t make any sense) Because if I’m supposed to be content at all times, when do I want? 
I guess this is the main point of all of this:
Delight in the Lord and he will give himself to you, which is more than reason enough to be content. But it is still ok to want things, especially things that resemble the Lord, things that are good for you. But don’t ever forget that first part. Surround yourself with his word, his people and his spirit, to help you not forget. And pray a lot. Let God know how your desires effect your heart and your life. Examine why you want what it is you want and see if you only want it because it would fill a role that belongs to the Lord. 
In conclusion, God is good, he works all things for good. He has a future of hope lined up for me and along the way He will guard me, protect me and bless me with his peace, which surpasses all understanding. I don’t need to worry about anything. (Romans 8:28, Jeremiah 29:11, Philippians 4:6-7)