“O Lord, You hear the desire of
the afflicted; You will strengthen their heart; You will incline Your
ear” (Psalm 10:17 ESV).
As I read this verse this week, I
started thinking about the many different desires I have for myself
and for others—spiritual, relational, vocational, physical—some
small, some more grand. I wrote several down in my prayer journal.
I’m sure we all have good desires in every area of our lives. David
and the other psalmists wrote often of our desires:
- “May He grant you your heart’s desire and fulfill all your plans!” (Ps. 20:4).
- “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart” (Ps. 37:4).
- “Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides You” (Ps. 73:25).
- “You open Your hand; You satisfy the desire of every living thing… He fulfills the desire of those who fear Him; He also hears their cry and saves them” (Ps. 145:16, 19).
Even if we don’t see our desires
fulfilled in this lifetime, in eternity we will find all good things.
John Eldredge wrote:
“Desire cannot
live without hope. Yet we can only hope for what we desire. There
simply must be something more, something out there on the road ahead
of us, that offers the life we prize. To sustain the life of the
heart, the life of deep desire, we desperately need to possess a
clearer picture of the life that lies before us... When we are
convinced that something delicious is about to be ours, we are free
to live in expectation, and it draws us on in anticipation” (The
Journey of Desire, 105, 163-164).
Augustine put it this way:
“The entire
life of a good Christian is in fact an exercise of holy desire. You
do not yet see what you long for, but the very act of desiring
prepares you, so that when He comes you may see and be utterly
satisfied” (Commentary on the First Epistle of John).
In this broken world, it can be
tempting to try to kill desire or pretend it doesn’t matter.
Instead, we should look for the God-given desires that are at the
root of all other desires. As we seek God’s will in Scripture, our
desires are refined and brought into alignment with God’s desires.
I’m sure it delights God when we ask Him to do things that are
already in His plan. Like children growing up, we start out wanting
whatever pleases us, but as we mature we start wanting better things
both for ourselves and for those we love.
I want to desire God’s best,
though I know I often settle for something much less valuable. It is
my hope and prayer that God will take my lesser desires and turn them
into something far beyond all I can ask or imagine. For now I’ll
trust that He hears, He knows, and He cares.
“Casting all your care upon
Him, for He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7 NKJV).
© 2018 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise
indicated all images are copyright free from pixabay.com.
