My part of the country is currently experiencing a severe drought. Water use is being restricted in surrounding communities, Independence Day firework displays are being cancelled, and brushfires are appearing left and right. We’re not necessarily in a state of panic yet since our life doesn’t depend on the success of our garden and drinking water is still easily accessible, but a 107° day with an even hotter forecast still ahead is enough to catch anybody’s attention.

Fortunately, the local media and governments are doing their part to make sure everybody understands their responsibilities during the drought. No unnecessary water usage, no bonfires and, as long as the excessive heat wave persists, no avoidable outdoor activity. Rain has basically been a stranger to our area for several weeks now and shows no signs of returning any time soon.

A drought of this size and intensity can hardly go unnoticed, especially when farmers play a significant role in your state’s economy. Is it possible, though, that we find it easier to worry about these natural inconveniences than our own spiritual health? How come rainfall totals can headline every newscast for a week straight, while the average person goes about their everyday life seemingly indifferent to their spiritual depravity and need for living water (John 4:10)? It’s not because either of the two are more apparent than the other; our nation has simply contented itself with ungodliness for so long that we’ve stopped seeing the need for it.

“My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?”

-Psalm 42:2

However much our country’s need for God may be underestimated, we cannot afford to overlook the need for more of Him in our lives. He’s the only one capable of providing our spiritual needs and refreshing the dry and thirsty ground we’ve become so used to walking on. Just as the leaves of an old oak tree stretch toward the sky when in desperate need of rain, the solution to our barrenness can only be found by looking up.

“Delight thyself also in the LORD; and He shall give thee the desires of
thine heart.”

-Psalm 37:4

If you’re a Christian, then just reading the above passage of Scripture likely caused you to stop for a moment and reflect on the goodness of God. To think that an all-knowing, all-holy God would extend to us anything but His wrath – let alone His love – should be enough to fill anybody with gratitude, and yet we find countless promises just like this one throughout the pages of God’s Word. Like the Israelites who were allowed to inherit “a land for which [they] did not labour and cities which [they] built not”, we have been made “partakers of the Lord’s table”, not by our own merit, but solely by grace through faith in Jesus Christ (Josh. 24:13; 1 Cor.10:21).

And although this particular promise is as beautiful and as valid as any, it can be easily misunderstood if we’re not careful to consider its context. Receiving all the desires of our heart is surely a thought worth getting excited about, but only when our priorities are first in the right place. Can you imagine the mess we would so quickly make of our lives if we got everything we wanted, no exceptions? You see, God isn’t offering us the satisfaction of every selfish desire, but the quenching of every Godly thirst (Matthew 5:6). If you make Him the center of your life and the focus of every ambition [i.e. your “delight”], then the desires of your heart will also be Godly in nature.

The fact is, there is a direct relationship between the delight of our heart and the desires of our heart. This means that if you’re not quite sure what the delight of your heart is, the desires which consume it on a daily basis are likely a good indicator of your spiritual condition. A person who delights in money desires more wealth; someone who delights in acceptance desires friendship; and those who delight in God desire “whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report.” (Philippians 4:8)

“I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.”

-Psalm 81:10

The obvious advantage to the Christian is that, unlike those who look for lasting happiness in temporal things, the desire of our heart is sure be granted so long as we put Christ in His rightful place by making Him our soul’s delight. How often do you think those who delight in earthly things find complete satisfaction? According to Ecclesiastes 5:10, “He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver, nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity.” Those who have fixed their eyes on the eternal and desire God with all their hearts are the only ones who won’t be disappointed.

“I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called.”

               -Ephesians 4:1

“This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.”

               -1 Timothy 1:15

“And [Jesus] said unto His disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on.
The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment.”

              -Luke 12:22-23

My Rating: 5/5 Stars

Disclaimer: I received this book free from the publisher in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review and all expressed opinions are my own.