Our Heart's Desire

From today's reading: Put your trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and feed on its riches. Take delight in the Lord, and he shall give you your heart's desire. Commit your way to the Lord and put your trust in him, and he will bring it to pass. Psalm 37:3-5

This passage from Psalm 37 admonishes us to do four things: put our trust in the Lord, do good, take delight in him, and commit our way to him. And there is a promise given that if we do those things, he will give us our heart's desire. This idea of our heart's desire can be a little nebulous. And this time of the year especially we find ourselves asking for things...

I told my daughter the other day that I wanted a new 10 inch skillet for Christmas. Will that make me happy? No. It will improve my cookiing experience, but it's not my heart's desire. Some people think that if they just had a new house or car, the latest electronic device, a new job, a boy friend or girl friend, or power or fame or fortune, that they will then be happy. Those things have surface value only.

I believe that down in the deepest crevices of our heart, what we want most is to know that we matter, that our life matters, that we are important to someone. God tells us over and over that we matter - that he takes delight in us. As long as we look for meaning in things outside ourselves, there will always be a hole in our life. It is in finding the inner peace of God in our heart that we find wholeness in our life. Delight in the Lord and you will find that he delights in you.