Psalms 37:1-8 promises, “[God] will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalms 37:4). But it also names three requirements for that promise: We must delight in the Lord, we should trust in His plan, and we need to rest in Him. Resting in the Lord is one of the hardest tasks we must undertake.
Resting may sound easy, but it requires supernatural courage, since in our human weakness, we tend to fret. Worry turns our minds away from delight and trust in the Lord. The three requirements are interrelated. We must enjoy spending time with God in order to learn to trust Him and commit to His way; our trust is absolutely essential to resting in Him; and we must be willing to rest in order to truly delight in Him.
Patiently waiting for the Lord to act is one of the supreme tests of our spiritual maturity. The stronger our desire is, the shorter our delay fuse. Sometimes we may desperately want to give God a timetable, but genuine, restorative rest occurs on His schedule. Only He understands every circumstance and knows the precise moment when answering our prayer will yield maximum benefit. We risk reaping disappointment, pain, and loss whenever we push ahead of His divine timeline.
Before you get out of bed each day, say a prayer like this one: Father, I want to thank You for giving me the desires of my heart. Today, I am going to delight myself in You, commit everything to You, and rest in the knowledge that You have everything under control. And I will wait for Your perfect timing.
If you follow the guidance of Psalms 37, God will richly bless you.
From the sermons of Charles F. Stanley