Psalm 145
Verse 19 He fulfills the desires of those who fear Him; He hears their cry and saves them.
We talked yesterday about how wonderful it is to be able to call on Him and have Him close when we call on Him in truth. But what is it that we are asking for?
This is the type of verse that people in modern Christianity love to use to say that God wants them to be happy. They teach that God wants them to have everything their hearts desire, but is that true? The Bible says, "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure." (Jeremiah 17:9a) Our hearts tend to draw us to what makes us happy and sadly that often means things that please our flesh rather than the Spirit of God in us.
David is praising God because He fulfills the desires of those who fear Him, so how does that differ from what modern Christianity teaches? The answer is simply complex. While God delights in us, it is His plans that He wants to fulfill, as His children this should be our desire too. We will only have this as our hearts desire if we are fearing Him and aligning our will with His.
The more that we are in line with Him the more we will find that our desires are aligned with His and we will see things in different ways than we have prior. We will start seeing that things always going smoothly doesn’t bring as many people to praise Him as the moments when we see that only He could bring us through a particular trial. This change of mindset is vital to a life of praise as it sets our hearts on Him.
Knowing God’s faithful nature is something that will bring us great peace and will allow us to trust Him more. We can cry out to Him and seek His wisdom through asking and studying His Word, and when we cry out to Him needing help, He will hear and He will come to our aid. We know that as His children He desires to save us and deliver us from the things that aren’t for our good and His glory. He is worthy of our praise.
Making It Personal
Do your dreams match God’s desires? What dream do you have that is against what you know God wants in your life? Do you cry out to Him asking Him to save you?
Making It Personal Kids
What would it mean to want the same thing as Jesus? Do you want the same thing Jesus does? What are some things that you pray to Jesus about?
Closing Prayer
Father, thank You for saving us. We confess the times that we have looked to fulfill our own heart’s desires instead of Yours. Give us a heart for You that desires Your will instead of our own and help us dream Your dreams. In Jesus’ name. amen.
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