Fulfilling the Desires of God’s Heart
“Delight thyself also in the Lord; and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart .” Psalm 37.4
Far too often it seems that more attention is given to the second half of this verse. Yet, the key to receiving the latter part of this scripture is in fulfilling the first part. “Delight thyself also in the Lord…”
The word delight means to “please greatly, take great pleasure in.” Psalm 147.11 AMP states, “The Lord takes pleasure in those who reverently and worshipfully fear Him, in those who hope in His mercy and loving-kindness.” God has pleasure in those who sincerely love and worship Him. He takes great pleasure in those who take great pleasure in Him.
“A time will come, indeed it is already here, when the true (genuine) worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth (reality); for the Father is seeking just such people as these as His worshippers.”
God delights in our praises. He delights in seeing us really living as His children, Him working in us to show the light of His love to the world.
Philippians 2.13-15 AMP says – “[Not in your own strength] for it is God who is all the while effectually at work in you [energising and creating in you the power and desire], both to will and to do His good pleasure, satisfaction and delight. Do all things without grumbling and faultfinding and complaining [against God] and questioning and doubting [among yourselves], that you may show yourselves to be blameless and guiltless, innocent and uncontaminated, children of God without blemish (faultless, unrebukable) in the midst of crooked and wicked generation [spiritually perverted and perverse], among whom you are seen as bright lights (stars or beacons shining out clearly) in the [dark] world.”
This kind of life, with these results, only comes from having a deep and intimate relationship with God.
In order to have a deep relationship with Him, you must get in position to know Him as Father.
The Word says in Psalm 46.10, to be still and know that He is God. To really know Him, you have to be still. It is a time of quieting your mind by meditating on Him and concentrating on worshipping Him.
Worship and praise is such a vital element in going deeper in God. Perhaps it might seem blank or shallow at first. However, the Word says that praise is what draws in our promised blessing – and God is always true to His Word. Begin by telling God how much you love Him. Call on Him and He will answer. [Jeremiah 33.3]
Pursue Him with all your heart. When you do, He will personally see to it that you find this deeper place in His love for you. There is no end to God. No matter how far you plunge into His Presence, there is still much more awaiting you.
You never have to fear that God or His goodness will ever run out – because it will not run out. God is forever. His blessing are forever. His glory is forever. There is no end to Him. That is the wonderful thing about getting lost in a place of worship before God. We may have each at sometime faced the feeling of not being sure of getting deeper in worship because of a fear that once we really get into it, it will all end and leave us void inside. God has never intended for us to reach a place where all the goodness stops. His loving-kindness endures forever. You may have to turn off the worship music at sometimes, you may have to go prepare lunch or go to school or to work – but you never have to leave that place of worship, because the heart of worship is in your heart. There is nothing and nobody that can take that away from you. It does not matter what is going on around you – if you keep that worship in your heart and do not allow anything to distract you from it – it will stay with you, and God will meet you and speak to your heart.
The purpose of worship is:
Before creation, God sat in the midst of His vast dominion. He had it all – billions of angels to serve Him and answer His every command. When He spoke, His words carried the power to become, in the very same instant, whatever He called forth. He operated in limitless superiority and rule. He was God – the Supreme Ruler of everything. He had everything – that is, except fellowship. Imagine having everything – yet having no one to share it all with. Imagine having a vast empire – yet having no one with whom to show His intimate love and compassion.
One day, the God-head had a conference and designed a plan within eternity. In this conference, a now familiar statement was spoken for the first time – “Let Us make Man in Our image, after Our likeness.” (Genesis 1.26)
Never before had there existed a being made in the very image and likeness of God. Obviously, man was such a uniquely awesome creature, to the point that the angels did not quite know what to think about this new kind of being.
“What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of earthborn man that You care for him? Yet You have made him but a little lower than God, and You have crowned him with glory and honour. You made him to have dominion over all the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet.” Psalm 8.4-6
We have been created in the very image of God Himself. In all the universe, we are unique. And it with us that God desires to spend His life. It is with you and me that He desires to fellowship and pour out His immense love and goodness.
We give God the desires of His heart by worshiping Him, focusing our attention and affection on Him all the time, and by living in His presence. This is a life-style of worship. As you worship, your heart begins to open up to God. It is when your heart is open to Him that He is able to speak clearly to you. You begin to see and relate to Him as the loving Father that He is and receive the vast love that He has for you.
Through worship, a deep and intimate relationship is formed between you and God. In worship you are telling Him how much you love Him, and in turn, seeing how much He does love you. Your focus and attention is undivided toward Him in this place of worship. In this way, God is able to get to you this great love that He has.
When our trust in God gets stronger through worship, we will start yielding more and more of our life to Him. We’ll begin letting go of hurts and putting all our cares over on Him – and we’ll begin knowing, really knowing that He is taking care of everything.
He is your Father, and you are His child. Everything He has is yours. You are completely safe and secure in Him. Once you get to know Him intimately, you won’t have to worry or care everything else as much. All you will care about is being with Him! Worshiping Him, talking to Him, and being in His Presence all the time. You don’t have to fear or dread about anything. He has it all under control as you trust Him and live in Him. You won’t have to be anxious about your dreams, visions, or heart’s desires coming to pass or about trying to make them happen – because in Him, He has your life and future completely under control.
Giving God His desires is what is most important, because He is most important. All your other desires will become dim in comparison to the awesomeness of knowing God and of the wonderful place that is found in His presence. What could be more wonderful than going deeper in God’s presence, spending eternity with and serving Him in everything He wants you to do? He has your very best interests at heart, and when you give it all to Him, He will satisfy you way beyond what you could have ever hoped for.
When you are so content and satisfied in God, it does not really matter what you have or do not have. When you have Him, that is all that matters – because when you are in a place of complete and total dependence on God, you are connected to His life, His goodness and blessing for every area of your life: spiritually, mentally, emotionally, physically, financially, socially.
When God is first in your life, when He is your delight and the One you take great pleasure in, then He can fulfil the second part of Psalm 37.4:
“…and He will give you the desires of your heart.”
God desires to give you infinitely, abundantly above all you can ask, imagine, or dream. God takes pleasure in the prosperity of His servants. (Psalm 35.27) This word “prosperity” is referring to much more than finances. Prosperous means “successful, rich, thriving, auspicious (promising), favourable in every area”.
As God’s child, He has given everything He has to you. Now that you are in a place of total contentment and satisfaction in Him, whenever He gives you the desires of your heart, you will not just forget Him all at once. No, the first thing you will want to do is run to Him and start thanking Him for what He has done! You will want to enjoy all the good things He gives to you with Him – worshipping Him for who He is and telling Him how much you love Him.
In this way, the constant cycle and flow of His presence will continue in your life. No matter how many good things you get, no matter how much your life progresses, you will still keep your focus on Him and live in that place of worship before Him – because He is the Source and Answer for your life.
The Heart of Worship is in your heart. When you focus on giving God the desires of His Heart, you will never lack having the desires of your heart.
Focus on God’s Desires. He will personally see to it that you find that deeper place in Him and in Life as you worship Him!
Copyright © First Love Ministries International aka FERVOUR
All Rights Reserved.
“Delight thyself also in the Lord; and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart .” Psalm 37.4
Far too often it seems that more attention is given to the second half of this verse. Yet, the key to receiving the latter part of this scripture is in fulfilling the first part. “Delight thyself also in the Lord…”
The word delight means to “please greatly, take great pleasure in.” Psalm 147.11 AMP states, “The Lord takes pleasure in those who reverently and worshipfully fear Him, in those who hope in His mercy and loving-kindness.” God has pleasure in those who sincerely love and worship Him. He takes great pleasure in those who take great pleasure in Him.
“A time will come, indeed it is already here, when the true (genuine) worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth (reality); for the Father is seeking just such people as these as His worshippers.”
God delights in our praises. He delights in seeing us really living as His children, Him working in us to show the light of His love to the world.
Philippians 2.13-15 AMP says – “[Not in your own strength] for it is God who is all the while effectually at work in you [energising and creating in you the power and desire], both to will and to do His good pleasure, satisfaction and delight. Do all things without grumbling and faultfinding and complaining [against God] and questioning and doubting [among yourselves], that you may show yourselves to be blameless and guiltless, innocent and uncontaminated, children of God without blemish (faultless, unrebukable) in the midst of crooked and wicked generation [spiritually perverted and perverse], among whom you are seen as bright lights (stars or beacons shining out clearly) in the [dark] world.”
This kind of life, with these results, only comes from having a deep and intimate relationship with God.
In order to have a deep relationship with Him, you must get in position to know Him as Father.
The Word says in Psalm 46.10, to be still and know that He is God. To really know Him, you have to be still. It is a time of quieting your mind by meditating on Him and concentrating on worshipping Him.
Worship and praise is such a vital element in going deeper in God. Perhaps it might seem blank or shallow at first. However, the Word says that praise is what draws in our promised blessing – and God is always true to His Word. Begin by telling God how much you love Him. Call on Him and He will answer. [Jeremiah 33.3]
Pursue Him with all your heart. When you do, He will personally see to it that you find this deeper place in His love for you. There is no end to God. No matter how far you plunge into His Presence, there is still much more awaiting you.
You never have to fear that God or His goodness will ever run out – because it will not run out. God is forever. His blessing are forever. His glory is forever. There is no end to Him. That is the wonderful thing about getting lost in a place of worship before God. We may have each at sometime faced the feeling of not being sure of getting deeper in worship because of a fear that once we really get into it, it will all end and leave us void inside. God has never intended for us to reach a place where all the goodness stops. His loving-kindness endures forever. You may have to turn off the worship music at sometimes, you may have to go prepare lunch or go to school or to work – but you never have to leave that place of worship, because the heart of worship is in your heart. There is nothing and nobody that can take that away from you. It does not matter what is going on around you – if you keep that worship in your heart and do not allow anything to distract you from it – it will stay with you, and God will meet you and speak to your heart.
The purpose of worship is:
- Obedience – God desires it. He asked for it. And we should do what He asks, willingly. (John 4.23-24)
- Open your heart – When we open our heart to God through worship, He is able to speak to us clearly – because in worship we are focused totally on Him – who He is and what He is all about. Worship enlarges our capacity to receive God’s love and all that He has for us.
- Worship is for us too – It seems that there is a misconception many times of God sitting in heaven and Him ordering everyone around and wanting everyone to praise Him, do what He wants, and meet His needs. Often He is viewed as being a self-centred, proud dictator. But this is not the case at all!
Before creation, God sat in the midst of His vast dominion. He had it all – billions of angels to serve Him and answer His every command. When He spoke, His words carried the power to become, in the very same instant, whatever He called forth. He operated in limitless superiority and rule. He was God – the Supreme Ruler of everything. He had everything – that is, except fellowship. Imagine having everything – yet having no one to share it all with. Imagine having a vast empire – yet having no one with whom to show His intimate love and compassion.
One day, the God-head had a conference and designed a plan within eternity. In this conference, a now familiar statement was spoken for the first time – “Let Us make Man in Our image, after Our likeness.” (Genesis 1.26)
Never before had there existed a being made in the very image and likeness of God. Obviously, man was such a uniquely awesome creature, to the point that the angels did not quite know what to think about this new kind of being.
“What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of earthborn man that You care for him? Yet You have made him but a little lower than God, and You have crowned him with glory and honour. You made him to have dominion over all the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet.” Psalm 8.4-6
We have been created in the very image of God Himself. In all the universe, we are unique. And it with us that God desires to spend His life. It is with you and me that He desires to fellowship and pour out His immense love and goodness.
We give God the desires of His heart by worshiping Him, focusing our attention and affection on Him all the time, and by living in His presence. This is a life-style of worship. As you worship, your heart begins to open up to God. It is when your heart is open to Him that He is able to speak clearly to you. You begin to see and relate to Him as the loving Father that He is and receive the vast love that He has for you.
Through worship, a deep and intimate relationship is formed between you and God. In worship you are telling Him how much you love Him, and in turn, seeing how much He does love you. Your focus and attention is undivided toward Him in this place of worship. In this way, God is able to get to you this great love that He has.
When our trust in God gets stronger through worship, we will start yielding more and more of our life to Him. We’ll begin letting go of hurts and putting all our cares over on Him – and we’ll begin knowing, really knowing that He is taking care of everything.
He is your Father, and you are His child. Everything He has is yours. You are completely safe and secure in Him. Once you get to know Him intimately, you won’t have to worry or care everything else as much. All you will care about is being with Him! Worshiping Him, talking to Him, and being in His Presence all the time. You don’t have to fear or dread about anything. He has it all under control as you trust Him and live in Him. You won’t have to be anxious about your dreams, visions, or heart’s desires coming to pass or about trying to make them happen – because in Him, He has your life and future completely under control.
Giving God His desires is what is most important, because He is most important. All your other desires will become dim in comparison to the awesomeness of knowing God and of the wonderful place that is found in His presence. What could be more wonderful than going deeper in God’s presence, spending eternity with and serving Him in everything He wants you to do? He has your very best interests at heart, and when you give it all to Him, He will satisfy you way beyond what you could have ever hoped for.
When you are so content and satisfied in God, it does not really matter what you have or do not have. When you have Him, that is all that matters – because when you are in a place of complete and total dependence on God, you are connected to His life, His goodness and blessing for every area of your life: spiritually, mentally, emotionally, physically, financially, socially.
When God is first in your life, when He is your delight and the One you take great pleasure in, then He can fulfil the second part of Psalm 37.4:
“…and He will give you the desires of your heart.”
God desires to give you infinitely, abundantly above all you can ask, imagine, or dream. God takes pleasure in the prosperity of His servants. (Psalm 35.27) This word “prosperity” is referring to much more than finances. Prosperous means “successful, rich, thriving, auspicious (promising), favourable in every area”.
As God’s child, He has given everything He has to you. Now that you are in a place of total contentment and satisfaction in Him, whenever He gives you the desires of your heart, you will not just forget Him all at once. No, the first thing you will want to do is run to Him and start thanking Him for what He has done! You will want to enjoy all the good things He gives to you with Him – worshipping Him for who He is and telling Him how much you love Him.
In this way, the constant cycle and flow of His presence will continue in your life. No matter how many good things you get, no matter how much your life progresses, you will still keep your focus on Him and live in that place of worship before Him – because He is the Source and Answer for your life.
The Heart of Worship is in your heart. When you focus on giving God the desires of His Heart, you will never lack having the desires of your heart.
Focus on God’s Desires. He will personally see to it that you find that deeper place in Him and in Life as you worship Him!
Copyright © First Love Ministries International aka FERVOUR
All Rights Reserved.