The Lord has promised that He will give us the desires of our hearts. Consequently, He expects us to have desires.
A word of the Lord was spoken to King David through the prophet Nathan that provides great insight regarding this truth. This word came to David after he sinned by having Uriah killed to cover his own sin of adultery with Bathsheba. The Lord said to David:
“I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your keeping, and gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if that had been too little, I also would have given you much more!” (2 Samuel 12:8 NKJV).
Although David had already received a great deal from the Lord, He was willing to do far more for David than what He had already done. The Lord wanted David to know, just as He wants us to know, that He was ready to pour out abundance beyond measure upon him.
But David failed to receive the full measure of God’s blessing because he wanted what he could not have. David wasn’t content in the Lord, and his attempt to fulfill his wanton desires nearly cost him his life. Had David kept his eyes on God instead of letting them drift to young Bathsheba, he would have experienced God’s abundance in a far greater measure in his life.
In the same way, God is always at work to help us experience far more of His abundance than we currently have. As Third John 2 says, “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in every way and [that your body] may keep well, even as [I know] your soul keeps well and prospers” (AMP).
Even in times of trouble when hardship surrounds us, we can remain satisfied. Psalm 37:18,19 proclaims this: “The Lord knows the days of the upright, and their inheritance shall be forever. They shall not be ashamed in the evil time, and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied” (NKJV).
In Psalm 81:13-16, the psalmist makes it clear that when we commit ourselves to seek God’s ways and listen to His counsel, we can stay above the conflict and the fate others experience as a result of their disobedience:
“Oh, that My people would listen to Me, that Israel would walk in My ways! I would soon subdue their enemies, and turn My hand against their adversaries. The haters of the Lord would pretend submission to Him, but their fate would endure forever. He would have fed them also with the finest of wheat; and with honey from the rock I would have satisfied you” (NKJV).
When we are uncluttered by competition or covetousness, we can hear God’s voice more easily. Peaceful contentment grows into a strong confidence in Him as both our Provider and our provision. Our hearts become single and focused on Him, and we are able to say as Paul did: “I have learned this secret, so that anywhere, at any time, I am content, whether I am full or hungry, whether I have too much or too little. I have the strength to face all conditions by the power that Christ gives me” (Philippians 4:12-13 TEV).
