March 6, 2025 Devo

Take another look at our verse for today. “For you have given him his heart’s desire; you have withheld nothing he requested.” What does that verse say to you? Many people read it as if God is a Divine Gift Card with which they can have whatever they want. That theology lends itself well to the “name it and claim it” movement in which those who believe it can just speak things into existence by attaching God’s name. But I think that verse is much deeper than that. I don’t think that what David received from God was whatever he thought he wanted. I think he discovered that God gave him what his heart truly desired. And that was God Himself. God is what our hearts desire. All that He is and all that He brings to us.
Think about it. How often have we felt lonely and asked God to give us Mr. or Miss Right? Then we meet someone we become infatuated with, and our hormones convince us that this person is the desire of our hearts. But they're not. They may be fun, attractive, and even great conversationalists. But our hearts are looking for something more. Someone who will never leave us. Someone who will know us thoroughly and still love us unconditionally. Someone who is unfailing, unchanging, and unrelenting in their commitment to us. That’s God. HE is the desire of our heart.
The same is true of every other “desire” that comes out of the shallowness of our minds and emotions. We often find ourselves chasing after jobs or positions, possessions or money, and “stuff” we think will make us happy. But none of it does. Those things may be the things we’ve been told will make us fulfilled, but any of us who have been down those paths chasing those things know that they do not. They can become “wants,” but they aren’t the desires of our hearts. The desires of our hearts are deeper. They quench the cries of our soul.
Our souls long for fulfillment. Our souls long for peace. Our souls cry out for love and meaning and security. Our souls want something lasting. Something eternal. None of those things can be met by any earthly wish fulfillment. They can only be met by God. God gave David his heart’s desires because God WAS the desire of David’s heart. And trust me, God is what YOUR heart is looking for as well. That’s God’s Word for you today.