God Will Give You the Desires of Your Heart

[Quaere_Verum]

You should never question the desires of your heart because God put them there for a reason and will give them to you. Don’t be double minded and question whether your desires are God’s will or not but simply trust that they are from God.

I was told this by a evangelical Christian. It’s based on Psalms 37:4-5 “Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him and He shall bring it to pass”.

What is the difference between their interpretation and the Catholic interpretation?

 

[Quaere_Verum]

Here are my initial concerns with the way I’ve heard this verse interpreted by some:

1. Misinterpretation - not knowing the difference between the real desires God has placed in our hearts verses worldly desires that may or may not be from God.
2. Not realizing that some times God withholds the desires of our hearts for reasons we are not always priveleged to know. Just think of those Saints who desired so fervently to be with God, yet they had to wait for decades or had long dry periods where they were unable to feel God’s presence.

If we unite our wills so closely with God’s will that the two are indistinguishable, then our desires would be God’s desires. Otherwise, we have to pray for discernment.

That’s my take. Are there any other ideas?

 

[AngelRose81]

To me, this sounds like you were told some of the beliefs of the “Health & Wealth” gospel that has become so popular in recent years.

 

[Stylteralmaldo]

You should never question the desires of your heart because God put them there for a reason and will give them to you. Don’t be double minded and question whether your desires are God’s will or not but simply trust that they are from God…It’s based on Psalms 37:4-5 “Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him and He shall bring it to pass”.

We should never question the desires of our hearts? How’d they get that out of Psalm 37?

Here’s the opening of that Psalm (1-3):

Fret not yourself because of the wicked, be not envious of wrongdoers! For they will soon fade like the grass, and wither like the green herb. Trust in the Lord, and do good; so you will dwell in the land, and enjoy security.

What is the difference between their interpretation and the Catholic interpretation?

From this Catholic’s perspective, verses 4-5 is speaking in reference to our response in verses 1-3. When we do good, we will dwell in the land and enjoy security which we will then delight in the Lord thus giving us the desires of our hearts.

 

[Quaere_Verum]

Thanks for your responses.

As I see it, we do not always recognize the desires of our hearts because they are often clouded by our worldly desires. It is when we unite our will with God’s will (we’ll never perfect this) that our true desires become clearer, and those are the desires which God will provide. When I believe that God put every worldly desire in my heart there is an assumption that all I want is what God wants for me which means I believe that my will and God’s are perfectly aligned.

Any thoughts?

 

[Belle10]

As soon as I saw the thread title, I had to read it. Psalm 37:4 was always my favorite as a child, and even though as a child I didn’t really understand it, I just always liked it.

Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.

Now I think I have a better understanding. The way I interpret it is this: that if I delight the Lord with my life, He will give me the ultimate desire of my heart: life in Him and with Him. I don’t think it has to do with the desire for material possessions necessarily, but more so the relationship we can all have with Him. After all, isn’t our ultimate desire, one that He placed in our souls, to be with Him for eternity?

Just my opinion, have a great day! :harp: