Psalm 20

I love this verse: “May [God] give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed.” (vs 4)

I have heard many people give caution over this verse. After all, the heart “is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” (Jer 17:9) What if the desires of our hearts are evil (as is so often the case)? Does that make this verse null and void?

Well, first, let’s remember what Paul wrote about God’s work in our lives: “For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.” (Phil 2:13) The good news is that God is working with all of us to change our hearts. He wants to give us the desires of our hearts, but He prefers that our desires are converted desires. And He has promised that, as we allow Him to work in us, our desires will begin to line up with His.

However, what about those who don’t want to allow God to work in their lives? Will they also get what they want? Will God also give them the desires of their unconverted hearts? Yes, He will.

This is, I think, one of the most awe-inspiring things about God—His commitment to and insistence on freedom. Even if His children choose to ultimately reject Him, God does not force them into a life they don’t want. He will give them the desires of their hearts—even when that desire leads to death.

Our freedom is more important to God than insulating Himself from suffering for eternity. For God will lose all those who choose not to live with Him, and He will grieve over them as a parent grieves over the death of a child. Still, He will surrender Himself to our choices. He will acquiesce to what we want.

He will give all of us the desires of our hearts.