He will give you your heart's desire

A continued reading of the Psalms through this filter: God’s care for us.

May he give you your heart’s desire and fulfil every one of your plans (Psalm 20:5)

·         This verse takes on special meaning in light of today’s Gospel passage from Mass, where Jesus tell us to Remain in me as I remain in you. . . . . [if you do so] ask for anything you want and it will be done for you. (John 15:4, 7). And what, we might ask, is our heart’s desire? To answer this question, we have to withdraw from the noise of our lives and look deeply inside to see what really resides there. Keep in mind that the way this verse is worded, Jesus Christ is already within us; we don’t need to look outside of yourselves. But what is it that we want to ask for?

You have granted him [the king] his hearts desire;

you have not refused the prayer of his lips (Psalm 21:3).

·         The king in this Psalm is David. Interesting, isn’t it, that this passage refers back to the previous one I had selected. King David had a deep spirit, and he dwelled with the Lord in his prayer. Otherwise, how could we have these beautiful psalms? The Spirit of God was within him; Jesus Christ was within him, although he did not realize it at the time.

·         The lesson here is that David gives us an example of what it means to “remain in God,” and as a result, heart’s desire was fulfilled.

“Heart’s desire:” I need to jump ahead and call to mind one of my favorite verses from the psalms. It’s found in Psalm 37:4. If you find your delight in the Lord, he will grant your heart’s desire.

·         Once again, the same promise, and once again, a condition imposed on it which comes down to what we have already discovered: remain in God; find your delight in the Lord. If we take too much delight in things that are not of the Lord, then we will find that our desires are not fulfilled and we will not find the happiness we never stop searching for, as is says in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, ¶27.

I wrote about “heart’s desire” in an earlier reflection, and I will repeat it now in case you didn’t get it the last time.

What is this “heart’s desire” that he will grant us? It’s not what you might think, and most likely it is not something you would pray for. In fact, this “heart’s desire” is probably something you have never thought of before, have never anticipated, and at this point you might not even know it exists. We’re dealing here with the realm of grace, with the realm of mystery, and in terms of a supernatural process that is set in motion by the commitment itself.

I’m speaking from experience here. I remember the time I first read those words and took them to heart. And from that day forward, life changed in ways that I never would have predicted. What I was given was far more than anything I had ever asked or hoped for.

And, this gift to my heart is a gift that keeps on giving, some thirty-five or forty years later. It has never ceased to fill my life with good, even in the midst of trials and difficulties.

If you’ve already made that commitment, if you’ve already begun to realize that your greatest delight is with the things of God, then you know what I am talking about. If you haven’t yet done so, or if you aren’t really sure that your life could change so radically, then simply pray for the grace to realize and to live these words, in your time, at the right time, which is, after all, God’s time. And God’s time is the best time of all.

From here, we move to Psalm 23. Great riches await us. Until next time.

May God bless you, help you to identify your heart’s desire, and grant you what you ask for.