Desiring a Happily Ever After

“Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37:4

Ever heard this verse? I used to think this was God’s promise to essentially be my fairy godfather. I just needed to be patient, pray, and I’d get whatever I wanted. Life would turn into a fairy tale, I’d find out I was a princess (with perfect hair!), a dashing prince would come along, and we all know the last three words, “happily ever after” it would be.

Isn’t a desire for a perfect story built into our hearts, even as children? We are born knowing life isn’t as it should be. As soon as a newborn cries, our curse from the garden is exposed. Our desires, the things our hearts cry for, are not to be found.

Fairy tales are beautiful in that they remind us how life could be. That good should win. That real beauty is ageless. That a man’s strength is in his character. When the desires of the good hero and heroine are granted, and the happy ending finds them riding off into the sunset. 

I have yet to meet someone, who, in their heart of hearts, does not long to live a fairy tale.    

 Who wouldn’t love a happy ending to each day on earth?

I have seen friends receive the desires of their hearts. But I have also seen friends still waiting, hoping, and praying for certain dreams.  

Having a desire does not make it wrong. As Paul Tripp writes in ‘Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands': “Desire is one way our design mirrors God. Here we are much closer to him than the rest of creation, which either functions by instinct or by biochemical processes. To stop desiring is impossible, because when you quit desiring, you are dead.”

 Desires can be for good things. But we need to ask why we desire things—it is the heart that God looks at (1 Samuel 16:7).

Is what I want for God’s glory or for mine?

 

This statement “for God’s glory” always confused me as a kid. I went to a Christian middle school, and before basketball games or a cross-country meet someone would always pray “let it all be for Your glory.” What?! My little mind was always baffled.

It took me a few years (and some people wiser than myself!) but the mystery around this statement has been solved. ‘For God’s glory’ means making everything in life about Him. Even my desires.  

I’ll try to explain how I understand it.  

Like most girls, I have a desire to bring beauty into the world. But is it so people will praise, worship, glorify…me? Or is my desire for a beauty that mirrors Christ, that glorifies him with a grace that loves and encourages others?  

In every area of life, I need to test my desires. Are they Christ-like, or self-seeking? James says it best:

“What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.” James 4: 1-3

Woah. Guilty as charged. There have been times I have prayed for things I wanted and didn’t get them. But if I had questioned my heart, I would have seen my desires were purely selfish.   

“Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37:4. Too often, we look at this verse and forget the first half of the sentence. But the first words show the condition for God’s blessing—when we ‘delight ourselves in the Lord.”

Delight: I love this word because it also means happiness. When we are happy, joyful, and delight in pleasing the Lord, our desires will be changed. When we seek to live godly lives, our desires will change to reflect those of our Father. Our desires will be filled with a longing to live righteously, love others more deeply, and to serve God with all our heart, soul, and strength.   

These are the desires God promises to fulfill.

When God doesn’t grant my selfish desires, I am compelled to look beyond myself. We would not be the people we are without God’s redemptive goodness. To see that life isn’t about me, but about Him.

“You open your hand, you satisfy the desire of every living thing. For the LORD is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works.” Psalm 145: 16

Take heart. He cares. He knows— know Him. He is able to change and fulfill your desires.