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Have you ever read Psalm 37; the whole chapter not just verse 4? I bet most of us can quote verse 4 and some can even go on to quote verse 5. Passed that though most have no idea what this chapter is about. I suggest you take the time to read it cause it’s really good stuff! The overall theme is trusting in God, but it’s not really aimed at getting married and having children. I look on social media and over and over again I see my female friends quoting this verse and it never fails it is either because they are waiting “patiently” for God to send them a husband and/or a child or they are now married or recently had a child and just want to remind the rest of the world that God is faithful and gives us the desires of our hearts.

Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

Here’s the deal: out of His loving kindness, mercy, and love for me He often blesses me with things that I want. Contrary to what social media says this passage has very little to do with me getting what I want. Before it says anything about my desires the scripture tells me to delight myself in the Lord. Let’s break this down, shall we?

Step 1:

Delight yourself in the Lord.

How does one do this? Well, you have to get to know Him. You must seek His face, not just His hand. My issue with people using this scripture referencing what God gives them is many times they were simply seeking His hand. They didn’t want to spend time with Him or grow to have an intimate relationship with God. They seem to only want what He can give to them. That’s a problem for many reasons. Obviously, my name is not God so I don’t know their heart, but based on the things they say it very much appears that way.

When I dig deeper into the Word, when I spend more time in prayer, when I grow in Christ, I care less and less about my original desires and more about lost souls, more about being the hands and feet of Jesus, and in general less about me. When I grow I put my trust in Him and I don’t have to concentrate on getting the guy, the car, the job, the whatever it is that I am so focused on.

Step 1 really is all about trusting God, learning that as Psalm 23:1 says that The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.  Once I fully grasp the concept of Him being my shepherd and understand that He only wants the best for me, following Him is that much easier. Who knew that those simple words at the beginning of the verse would mean that I would have to work at a relationship?

Step 2:

This is the part everyone seems to want, right? This is the I get my desires part. Well, there really is no step 2, sorry. You see once I actually delight myself in the Lord and let Him have control of my life, I want what He wants for me. I no longer have a list of wants that I hand to Him like He is nothing more than a year long gift giving Santa Claus.

Do you notice this verse is typically only quoted by females about marriage and children or do you hear others quote it as well? If so, what sorts of things do you typically hear it referenced to? Regardless of how you hear it used, leave your thoughts below.