JOY AND THE DESIRES OF YOUR HEART

By Andrea Guachalla

“Idolatry is when you become the source of your own joy.”

– Paul Washer

And it is idolatry not only when you are the source of your own joy, but also when you let anything outside of God be what brings you joy. And the “anything” here can be so many things. It can be material wealth, power, fame… The Bible warns us that none of those things can give us true, everlasting joy. It seems obvious that we should be careful with desiring all that because it can lead to idolatry. However, it is not only these sinfully-inclined desires of power, wealth, and fame that can lead us to idolatry but even the desires that we think honor God.

The desires of our heart.

How many of us have heard this phrase “God will give you the desires of your heart” directed to us by our parents, friends, or brothers in Christ whenever they saw us struggling with unfulfilled longings or harsh times? 

I’ve personally had people repeat that phrase to me at least a dozen times this past couple of years. Even to my exhaustion. It was well-intended, I know. But more often than not I’ve received it with this implicit message: “Because you obey God, He will fulfill the desires of your heart.” And it has been only by the grace of He who created me, that I’ve never believed for a moment that my obedience would make God fulfill the desires of my heart. I understood that everything that is good, is given to us by grace, even faith, even good desires. Therefore, nobody can boast of anything they have accomplished, or gained.

After I tracked down the passage where that phrase is mentioned I realized that there was an important piece of Scripture missing when my well-intended friends and family were telling me that God would/wanted to fulfill the desires of my heart, and it was the phrase that precedes that one. Psalm 37:4:

“Delight yourself in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.”

Psalm 37: 4, English Standard Version

The fulfillment of the “desires of your heart” does not come without you first delighting yourself in the Lord because, you know what? The desires of your heart can be – and are often – sinful. Yes, even when you think they are God-honoring. Even then, whatever you desire can be the product of you creating idols for yourself, thinking that whatever you long for will bring you joy at last. We ignore that our hearts can be deceiving, and our desires can be too. We ignore that it is only up to our gracious Father to fulfill or not our longings, and desires, and that in either case, He is just, and wise. We can be sure that even when he decides to not fulfill our longings He is still being gracious by not giving us what we want, or what we THINK we need.

In our human condition, we often mask our self-serving desires as God-honoring ones, because we like to be our own gods, we like to think we are inherently good, and we like to think we are in control of our own joy. That is why it is important to understand that when the passage says “He will GIVE YOU the desires of your heart” it does not mean that He will fulfill the desires that you in your “good” nature conceived, but that He will literally give you new desires. Desires that honor Him, that are good for you, and that are aligned to His holy nature, and His will revealed in Scripture.

If anything we should be thankful that He does not fulfill the sinful desires of our hearts – even if we think they are good – because He knows our truest motivations, our lack of understanding, and the most hidden reasoning that goes behind our longings. He knows our deepest thoughts as we pray for the things we desire to come to pass. He knows where our heart thinks it will find joy, and He is righteous and good at not letting our hands grasp the object(s) of our idolatry. He is gracious at convicting us of our idolatry and helping us see in Scripture why it is that outside of Him we will never find joy. 

The humanly bad and heavenly glorious truth is that nothing will bring you joy unless you delight yourself in Him who saved you first. Not money, not fame, not health, not power. NOTHING. A college degree, a good marriage, well-behaved children, more friendships, a better-paid job, a better financial status, perhaps some academic recognition might all give you temporary happiness, but it will fail to give you what only Christ can give: everlasting joy.  

Whatever the object of your idolatry is, remember this: You must DELIGHT YOURSELF IN THE LORD. Not because by doing that God will grant you anything, – you deserved nothing more than judgment outside of Christ anyway, you must recognize that – but because Christ our Lord, is the only source of joy for the Christian, and it is God who places God-honoring desires in your heart. Brother and sister, delight yourself in the Lord, and then, by His gracious will, He will give you the desire to fulfill His will for His glory, your good, and the good of others..

In any case, you can and should pray to God that He would give you the desire to know Him more and be more like Christ., that He would give you the desire to fulfill His revealed will, be faithful to His commands, and love others as He does. Even as perceived unfulfilled longings make your heart ache and flood your reason, and the uncertainties and harshness of life blur your judgment, you can and must delight yourself in the Lord and rejoice. 

“Again I say, REJOICE!”

Philippians 4:4b, English Standard Version