One of my favorite verses of scripture is the following:
Psalm 37:4 KJV
Delight thyself also in the Lord ; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
This verse obviously does not mean God will give us every little thing that we decide we want. Rather, when we have a deep desire in our heart, and we serve the Lord, God will bring that thing to pass.
I believe this verse works on this premise: when we serve God, He is the one - not us - putting our desires in our heart; therefore, He works to bring that desire to pass. When we are not serving the Lord, then there is no guarantee God is going to work to bring our desires to pass.
Knowing this spiritual truth, we find Solomon tells us that God gave his father a desire, but rather than letting David see the fulfillment of the desire, he brought it to pass through his son, Solomon:
1 Kings 8:18-19 KJV
[18] And the Lord said unto David my father, Whereas it was in thine heart to build an house unto my name, thou didst well that it was in thine heart. [19] Nevertheless thou shalt not build the house; but thy son that shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house unto my name.
Is this a contradiction? David didn’t get to see the desire of his heart. He never saw the temple in Jerusalem. Solomon built it long after his death.
I think we view this the same way we view a wayward son or daughter who gives their heart to Christ after their loved one who prayed for their soul for years has passed. That departed loved one may not have seen their desire fulfilled, but God worked its fulfillment long after their time on this earth ended.
God is outside of time. He knows the end from the beginning, so whether we get to see our desire come to pass while in this world or it happens after our death, God is able to do exceedingly, abundantly more than we can ask or think (Eph. 3:20-21). Sometimes it’s not for us to do, it’s for us to start and someone else to finish.
John 4:37 KJV
And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth.
Psalm 37:4 KJV
Delight thyself also in the Lord ; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
This verse obviously does not mean God will give us every little thing that we decide we want. Rather, when we have a deep desire in our heart, and we serve the Lord, God will bring that thing to pass.
I believe this verse works on this premise: when we serve God, He is the one - not us - putting our desires in our heart; therefore, He works to bring that desire to pass. When we are not serving the Lord, then there is no guarantee God is going to work to bring our desires to pass.
Knowing this spiritual truth, we find Solomon tells us that God gave his father a desire, but rather than letting David see the fulfillment of the desire, he brought it to pass through his son, Solomon:
1 Kings 8:18-19 KJV
[18] And the Lord said unto David my father, Whereas it was in thine heart to build an house unto my name, thou didst well that it was in thine heart. [19] Nevertheless thou shalt not build the house; but thy son that shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house unto my name.
Is this a contradiction? David didn’t get to see the desire of his heart. He never saw the temple in Jerusalem. Solomon built it long after his death.
I think we view this the same way we view a wayward son or daughter who gives their heart to Christ after their loved one who prayed for their soul for years has passed. That departed loved one may not have seen their desire fulfilled, but God worked its fulfillment long after their time on this earth ended.
God is outside of time. He knows the end from the beginning, so whether we get to see our desire come to pass while in this world or it happens after our death, God is able to do exceedingly, abundantly more than we can ask or think (Eph. 3:20-21). Sometimes it’s not for us to do, it’s for us to start and someone else to finish.
John 4:37 KJV
And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth.
Amy Smalley
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