The Lord’s plan and our desires
“Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires.” (Psalm 37:4, NIV)
If you read that verse on its own, does it mean that if you delight in God, you’ll get that new Ferrari or a massive lottery win?
Of course not!
That’s not the message of the Scripture. That kind of thinking misses the entire point of what it means to be in a relationship with the King of Kings.
We don’t draw near to God to get things. We draw near to Him because His mercy is new every morning, and that is the sole reason we are not utterly consumed or destroyed!
When we have a pure, sincere heart, clean hands, and are washed in the blood of the Lamb of God (Jesus Christ), having all our sins removed, that is when we gain access to the presence of the Father, the Holy and Almighty God.
The Desire to Dwell
Returning to that first verse, we can now see a deeper truth: when we delight in being in the presence of the Lord, He satisfies the true desire of our hearts by permitting that access. It’s not just about entering; it’s about remaining in the King’s presence.
This delight is what causes our light to shine even in the darkest times:
“He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, your justice like the noonday sun.” (Psalm 37:6, NIV)
In the world’s darkness, while shadows cover the Earth, in the sky will appear the sign of the Son of Man. Jesus Christ will appear to His chosen ones, the saved, those who believed in the promise of His return.
This is the Rapture of the Church! We will ascend, meet the Lord in the air, in the clouds, and spend seven glorious years celebrating the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.
While we are in Heaven, in the dwelling places Jesus promised He would prepare for us, and celebrating the greatest wedding in history, here on Earth, the seven-year Tribulation will be unfolding—the first three and a half years of Tribulation, followed by the Great Tribulation.
What Comes Next? The Meek Shall Inherit
So, what exactly comes after the wedding, the celebration of Jesus being united to His Church?
Psalm 37:9 gives us the answer:
“For evildoers will be destroyed, but those who put their hope in the Lord will inherit the land.” (Psalm 37:9, NIV)
In this verse, I see yet another clear reference to the end of the age. As we know, upon Christ’s second coming, accompanied by His saints, He will defeat all His enemies with the sword that comes out of His mouth.
Reading the Word, we understand that this ‘sword’ is the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. This means Jesus will simply give an order, a command, and by the power of that very command, His enemies will fall instantly. We’ve seen this power demonstrated before:
“When evening came, they brought to him many who were demon-possessed. He drove out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick,” (Matthew 8:16, NIV)
This foreshadows the ultimate victory:
“The rest were killed with the sword that came from the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds ate their fill of their flesh.” (Revelation 19:21, NIV)
It’s an important moment to recall David’s defeat of the giant Goliath. It was the custom then for armies to select their strongest warrior to fight the opposing army’s champion. The winner took all.
Notice that, despite Jesus riding on a white horse, followed by the armies of Heaven, He alone will fight. Verse 9 proves prophetic again, showing that “those who put their hope in the Lord will inherit the land.”
After this, the Millennial Kingdom will commence. We, the saved, will reign with Christ for this thousand-year period, and it will be right here on Earth. All of this is the fulfilment of verse 9, confirming that the righteous will possess the Earth.
Verses 10 and 11 confirm this further:
“A little while, and the wicked person will be no more; though you look for him, he will not be there. But the humble will inherit the land and will enjoy abundant prosperity.” (Psalm 37:10–11, NIV)
Jesus Himself confirmed this during the Sermon on the Mount, speaking on the Beatitudes:
“Blessed are the humble, for they will inherit the earth.” (Matthew 5:5, NIV)
The Psalmist leaves no doubt:
“Wait for the Lord and keep his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the land. You will watch when the wicked are destroyed.” (Psalm 37:34, NIV)
“You will watch when the wicked are destroyed.” What did we read in Revelation? The King of Kings comes to conquer the enemies, followed by whom? The armies of Heaven, the multitude that was in Heaven with Him! We will be witnesses to this victory!
Our True Desire
Knowing all of this—the rapture, the wedding, the victory, and the Millennial Reign—we can now circle back to the first verse we read:
“Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you your heart’s desires.” (Psalm 37:4, NIV)
With the entire prophetic scenario in mind, we can truly grasp that our delight, our security, and our reason for joy are always in the Lord.
When we delight in Him, we know He will satisfy the desires of our hearts. Not because He obeys us and does what we want, but because we obey Him and desire to be in His presence.
Since that is the true, pure desire of a redeemed heart, He satisfies our will by allowing us to be in His presence, eternally.
When we read that Psalm with the full picture in mind, it’s absolutely fascinating to gain this perspective from such a well-known passage.
The greatest desire of our hearts must be to be in the Lord’s presence forevermore, and that is exactly what the Word promises us. That great day is drawing near!
More Resources
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