June 16, 2026
Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.—Psalm 37:4
Years ago, when I first became a Christian, there was a young couple at our church who took me under their wing. I was grateful for their friendship, encouragement, and efforts to answer my many questions. One day, the topic of unfulfilled hopes and dreams came up, to which the wife responded by quoting Psalm 37:4, “He will give you the desires of your heart.” The strong implication was that as a Christian, I could expect God to give me anything I wanted, if I would only ask. …
Taken as a whole, the meaning of the verse comes into sharper focus. It’s not a carte blanche, whereby God binds himself to provide whatever pops into the reader’s imagination: more money, better job, nicer home, exciting vacations. This isn’t the gospel according to Janis Joplin, who sang back in 1970, “Oh Lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes-Benz? My friends all drive Porsches, I must make amends.”
Nor is it the philosophy enshrined in Disney movies, which says, “Follow your heart. It will never lead you wrong.” … The key to Psalm 37:4 is found in the opening phrase: Delight yourself in the Lord. In essence, God is promising that for those who make him the object of their desire, he will fulfill that desire. …
This theme of desire for God reverberates beyond the book of Psalms, into the pages of the New Testament. Jesus describes the kingdom of heaven as a treasure for which a person will give everything in order to possess it (Matthew 13:44–46). Paul speaks of his own experience, counting all he had as worthless compared to the supreme value of knowing Jesus (Philippians 3:7–11). …
So while we may not know God’s will in a specific situation, we can always be certain of this. If we ask God to spark our affections and make our hearts delight in him, then we’re asking according to his will and he will honour that request. If we set our deepest desire on the Lord, he will fulfill that desire.
There’s a clear and present danger, especially in affluent cultures, of making idols out of God’s good gifts, of worshipping the creation instead of the Creator. The ancients did this with images of people and animals and heavenly bodies. We moderns are more likely to do it with wealth and ambition, comfort and leisure. Consequently, we view God as a means to an end, rather than an end in himself. We want God’s stuff, rather than God himself.
But it won’t work. As C. S. Lewis observed, “God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing.”
God designed humans to find our pleasure and fulfillment in him. All other pleasures have their proper place only in relation to this overarching delight in the Lord.—Subby Szterszky1
When I was a teenager, I “discovered” Psalm 37:4 and declared it to be my life verse at the time (please tell me you had one of those). “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” This is a formula I could follow for life, right? Delight in the Lord? Simple! He’s great, He’s awesome, He gets credit when things are going well. Now, I’ll wait expectantly for Him to do what I ask. …
But this isn’t an equation. It’s not math and it’s not a formula. Lip-service to God doesn’t mean I can manipulate Him into giving me what I desire. Even sincere amazement at His goodness doesn’t equate with a check next to the boxes of unmet desires. I didn’t understand at fifteen that a heart truly delighted in God will desire what He desires, will love what He loves, will do what He purposes.
So a decade after my Psalm 37:4 epiphany, I could be found sobbing, face down on the bathroom floor with a hundredth negative pregnancy test in my hand and a hole in my heart. Had God failed to deliver what I thought He had promised? Could He be doing anything good in the years of fruitless waiting? …
When I began to go to Scripture to see why He might be withholding children from me, I found that He wasn’t so much withholding the desires of my heart as much as He was giving me new ones. … As I searched the Scriptures for what I could learn about God’s character, my arms were still empty. But my heart began to be filled. I went to the Word day after day to set my eyes on the goodness of God, and I was filled with what I found. He was good, faithful, merciful, just, wise, sovereign, present.
In dwelling on His character, I began to see that no desire, no matter how sweet or noble, could stand in the place of my Savior. I am a slave to Christ, and therefore, no other master will do. Not motherhood, not marriage, not status, not notoriety. Even good things can become idols if they fight for center stage in our hearts. …
Because He is both intentional and kind, He gave us Himself in every way we have needed: Father, Son, and Spirit. From garden to temple to cross to Pentecost, God has given us Himself and given us record of it in His Word. One day we’ll see Him face-to-face completely unhindered, and then there will be an end to every yearning. …
When God doesn’t give you the desires of your heart, He may be giving you the desire of His heart. He may use the absence of the gift you pray for to set your eyes on the Giver instead. Let your yearning turn you to the One your heart was made to yearn for.—Glenna Marshall2
God has blessed me with so many good things: a safe place to live, food to eat, people to love and serve. Yet if I’m being really honest with you, I always seem to desire more: a marriage with a good man, a pretty house, a career I love that pays the bills, perfect friendships… The list goes on.
Recently, while I thought about all my unmet desires, a sarcastic laugh bubbled up. God, You said You would give me the desires of my heart. But here I am, juggling a couple of jobs while writing on the side. My mornings start early. My old, white fridge could die any day. At times, I still struggle with body image and friendships.
In my frustration, I read the Bible passage where I thought God had promised to give me the desires of my heart: “Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD…” (Psalm 37:3–5).
God calls us to trust, delight, and commit. Understanding this changed my perspective and gave me peace during a season of discontentment. …
Our commitment to Christ means our lives are no longer our own. We now have a purpose and meaning beyond life going our way. As a result, His joy shines bright in us like the morning sun. He gives us peace during chaos and unexpected hardships. It’s my prayer that we’ll desire more of Jesus because when we trust, delight in, and commit to Him, we find peace in His plan … even when life isn’t going how we dreamt it would.
Lord, help me to focus more on You and less on my unmet desires. May my ultimate desire always be for Your will and Your glory. When I’m struggling with contentment, remind me that You are good and are working for my good. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.—Grace Valentine3
Psalm 37:4 contains a great promise: “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” This verse invites us to have a deeply intimate relationship with God. As we delight in Him, He will give us the desires of our heart. …
To understand the promise in Psalm 37:4, we must first examine the meaning of delighting in the Lord. The word delight encompasses a profound sense of joy, satisfaction, and contentment. When we delight in the Lord, we seek His presence (Psalm 27:4), meditate on His Word day and night (Joshua 1:8 and Psalm 1:2), and align our will with His (Romans 12:2). …
When we delight in the Lord, we will experience a radical shift in our desires. In other words, we will no longer desire selfish and sinful things (Galatians 5:17–21). … As we draw closer to Him, our desires will begin to mirror His desires for us, reflecting His goodness and righteousness. …
Psalm 37:4 prompts us to delight in the Lord and align our desires with His perfect will. As we cultivate a heart that finds joy, satisfaction, and contentment in Him, He will transform our desires to reflect His purposes.—GotQuestions.org4
How glorious is Your mercy and how excellent is Your lovingkindness (Psalm 36:7)! Your love surpasses all things and Your mercy endures forever (Psalm 136:1). Your forgiveness is complete—washing my soul and redeeming me for Your heavenly kingdom (Ephesians 1:7), and so I present myself to You—my Lord, my God, my Savior, my all.
My desire is to please and worship You and to walk in Your will. There is no honor, glory, strength or love like Yours. I raise my voice and my heart and spirit to You in praise and thanksgiving and honor and gratitude and glory, giving You all that I have, for You are worthy.
Published on Anchor June 2026. Read by John Laurence. Music by Michael Dooley.
1 Subby Szterszky, “The desires of our hearts,” Focus on the Family Canada, 2016, https://www.focusonthefamily.ca/content/the-desires-of-our-hearts
2 Glenna Marshall, “When God Doesn’t Give You the Desires of Your Heart,” glennamarshall.com, August 6, 2018, https://www.glennamarshall.com/2018/08/06/when-god-doesnt-give-you-the-desires-of-your-heart/
3 Grace Valentine, “When God Hasn’t Given You the Desires of Your Heart,” Proverbs 31, June 28, 2025, https://proverbs31.org/read/devotions/full-post/2025/06/28/when-god-hasnt-given-you-the-desires-of-your-heart
4 “What does it mean that God will give you the desires of your heart (Psalm 37:4)?” GotQuestions.org, https://www.gotquestions.org/He-will-give-you-the-desires-of-your-heart.html
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