In one of my favorite passages in the Bible is found a little, well-known verse. In fact, this little verse can be found on pillows, in promise boxes, in frames and in or on any other medium a verse of scripture might be found.

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

I wrote in Live Your Story about my thoughts regarding what this verse means. In short, I believe as we delight in God, we will not have each of our wants and whims catered to, but He will put His desires in our hearts. Of course, once our desires match His, He is only too happy to fulfill them.

I’m learning (again) lately just how much a balancing act it is to stay in a place of delighting myself in Him. You see, when I delight in His presence and focus on Him, He does speak of His dreams and desires for me. He plants those desires and big dreams in my heart, and they bring joy and hope.

Dreams, desires, hopes – all good things, but risky for me. I find it far too easy to begin to shift my focus to the wonderful things He is speaking about, and with my focus goes my hope. I get off kilter and begin to hope in the dreams and promises God gives, instead of hoping in Him for them.

When my focus becomes the promise or dream or desire instead of the Giver of those good things, disappointment is inevitable. Nothing satisfies apart from Him, and when the weight of our hope rests on anything other than God, it will crumble under the weight (and wait).

God has given me words regarding Abra(ha)m and Sarai(h) repeatedly and from multiple sources in recent months, and I am challenged by their story of faith. The wait was long. Along the way, they allowed the focus to shift from God to His promises and tried to bring fulfillment in their own ways, but He still honored their faith and His promises.

As I continue to wait for the fulfillment of God’s promises, the desires He has placed in my heart, I am renewing my commitment to find joy in the process, to focus on God instead of running to mindless pursuits that numb the ache of hope. I am placing my hope once again in the Giver (and Fulfillment) of the desires in my heart, instead of in the fulfillment of those desires. I will endeavor to find my delight and fulfillment in Him alone, because it will never be found outside Him… no matter how many promises and desires are fulfilled.

What desires fill your heart today? Where is your hope? What are you delighting in today? I’d love to hear your thoughts, learn from you, and walk alongside you in this journey. Comment below or email me, and I will respond.