What to Expect from BSR through 2025
“Delight thyself also in the Lord; and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart.” – Psalm 37:4
As I sit to write this introduction post, I wonder what the Lord will lay on my heart to say. I feel very hesitant in writing this series, I have no authority in this area, I struggle with it every day. Yet as I pray about this, I feel as though God is reminding me that just as I need the constant reminder to keep going, this series will be a reminder to you as well, so here it is…
Dreams are not worthless.
Psalm 37:4 has been on my heart for years. More specifically since 2016. I have heard of several people, including myself, that really don’t like this verse. Deep down it’s almost a lie to us. We don’t believe it to be true. Thus, because we have not been given the desires of our heart, we seem to despise them, to see them as useless or a burden. We can often see God as selfish and prideful, not caring fully about what we want, because all that matters is His will.
Here are a few things I have come to realize about my desires:
- They are a window into my heart – they show me who I really am
- They are an avenue with which can draw me closer to the Savior
- They are not a burden, they are not useless, and they are not a hindrance
- If I let Him, God is fully able to guide my life through my desires
Let’s break Psalm 37:4 down for a minute.
Delight in the Lord
What does this mean? Why is this important?
I grew up being told that as I delighted in the Lord, He would change my desires to align them with His desires for me. And I have recognized this to be true.
Delighting in the Lord is simply finding enjoyment in spending time with Him. Personally I have found one of the things that delight me the most is when I talk about my desires with the Lord. Just as a dating couple enjoys getting to know each other, it became a must for me to share with the Lord what is on my heart.
Our Desires
What are our desires? If we don’t know what we want how can we tell the Lord? If we don’t spend time thinking about our desires, whether they are for ourselves or for others, how will we know when the Lord gives us our desires? Our desires can simply be identified by what we either want or don’t want. Sometimes it helps to find out what makes us upset or excited. Becoming an adult does not mean we have to stop dreaming.
What are some Problems that need to Change when it comes to this verse?
We have to cry.
We have to allow ourselves to get through the hurt and disappointment of the past. Dreams don’t have to stop once we hit adulthood. We can play a part in some way, even if it’s just pray, to see our dreams accomplished. And since prayer is the backbone of any success, technically you would be doing the greater work.
We also have to let go of our pride.
Let go of “I’m an adult now”. Let go of, “But I wanted to do this part of the dream”. One thing we need to realize is that each person has a gift from God and until we can function within that role we cannot see our desires fulfilled. If you as the hand tries to function as any other part of the body or the whole body, it’s not going to work. When we try to fulfill our own desires it comes nowhere near as grand as if we surrendered to the Lord and let Him do it.
We need to let go of our timelines.
I have tried to have timelines for years and this is what has caused the greatest disappointments for me. As I’ve thought back over past prayers I cannot find one that He has not answered – Okay, there were two… I asked God if I could marry these two different guys. But it turns out satan only used these instances to cause me to doubt that God would answer my prayers, because in reality I didn’t really want these guys, I just thought I did. – the desires God has not answered yet, I do believe He will in the future because Psalm 37:4 says so!
So Why am I taking a whole year to write a whole series on just one particular verse?
Simple.
Because God has used this verse more than any other verse in my life.
He has completely changed my life over the years since I was a young teenager… just with this verse.
I have gone back and forth – a love, hate relationship – with it.
Here is a general idea of what I’ll be sharing in the next 11 months:
- Why is Acknowledging our Desires so Important?
- Our Desires are not meant to be Hated
- Our Desires can Draw us Closer to Christ
- Our Desires can Lead us into God’s Will for Us
- Our Desires can Show us Who We Really Are
- It’s Time to Dream Again!
- How to Pray about our Desires
- Sins that Keep God from Answering our Prayers
- How to Go Deeper
- Perseverance – This Journey isn’t going to be easy
- Preparing for New Year resolutions
Getting Started
Some people have a hard time sharing their heart with God, so here is a quick exercise you can do to help you get started.
Take a sheet of paper – or download and print the provided PDF below – and write out, in a spirit of prayer the following:
What are your desires for your future?
What is your biggest dream?
What is something that really frustrates you?
What are some things that have really hurt you?
What is something that delights you and makes you happy?
I pray you all have a blessed week, Happy Running and enjoy your day!
This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it…
Be Still and Run 