Love God And Get What You Want?

Psalm 37:4 is one of the most commonly abused passages in the Bible: “Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”

Many modern day folks seem to think this verse means that if we love God he will give us everything we want.

Older commentators understood it differently.

W.S. Plumer, writing in the 19th century interpreted the verse is this way: “Whosever thus delights himself in the Lord will have holy wishes, pleasing to the Most High.”[1]

So which is it?

Love God and get what you want?

Or love God and receive healthier and holier desires?

In a sense, I think it is both, but in a very particular order. First of all, I think it means that as we grow in God through Christ, our desires are slowly changed. Then once we want what we should, those desires are granted; some now, some later and some in eternity.

Thanks be to God!

Pastor Paul Carter

To listen to Paul’s Into The Word devotional podcast visit the TGC Canada website; you can also find it on iTunes.

[1] W.S. Plumer, Psalms Geneva Series Of Commentaries (Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth Trust, 2016), 449.

Paul is the happy husband of Shauna Lee and the proud papa of 5 beautiful children, Madison, Max, Mikayla, Peyton and Noa. He attended Moody Bible Institute and is a graduate of York University (B.A.) and McMaster Divinity College (MDiv). He has been in pastoral ministry since 1994, serving in both Fellowship and Canadian Baptist churches in Oakville, Mississauga and Orillia, Ontario Canada. He presently serves as the Lead Pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church, Orillia, a large multi-staff church with a passion for biblical preaching and local mission. He is the host and Bible teacher on the Into The Word podcast which you can find on our podcast page or on iTunes. Twitter: @pastrpaulcarter.