Who Should Give Us the Desires of Our Hearts? {Guest Post}

Today, it is my pleasure to welcome Brenda from Triple Braided as she shares on our heart's deepest desires.

Brenda considers herself a "recovering single" after years as a single woman chasing her dreams instead of God's dreams for her. Now she lives with her two miracles: her husband who God physically saved from Cardiomyopathy after a dramatic heart transplant and her baby girl who will be born this month from those three hearts. Brenda encourages women to live a life surrendered to Jesus in every season on her blog, Triple Braided, and she recently published her first eBook, Fall for Him: 25 Challenges from a Recovering Single. You can also connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

About six years ago I met weekly in an apartment in Atlanta with about five other women. We were all single, and as you can imagine, we all wished we were married. Our purpose for meeting was to have girl time but also for Bible study. Most of the time, however, we ended up having a verse study instead. Every week we would start out with good intentions. We would first eat and talk and laugh. Then we would move into discussing whatever Bible study we were doing at the time.

 For myself as a single woman, the topic of the Bible study at the time really didn't matter. All studies usually wound up being about relationships and dating and marriage. Ours was no different. Whether we were talking about Abraham or David or Ruth, shortly into the discussion our conversation would shift, and we would begin analyzing our lives as single women. There was one verse from the Bible that came up every week. And every week we would go 'round and 'round debating its meaning. It was like the Christian single's mantra.

"Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4

The reason for our debate is most likely obvious. 

The desperate desires of our hearts was to be married. And we were delighting in the Lord to the best of our knowledge. So why wasn't God giving us our desires?

At the time I mistakenly believed that only single people struggled with delighting in the Lord and not getting the desires of their hearts. If you're married, what more could be wrong?

But now that I am on the other side of "I do's," I realize that we all struggle with the tension between our desires and delighting in the Lord.

The desire to have a baby, adopt a baby, or have a healthy baby.

The desire to be a full-time homemaker, get a part-time job, or maybe have a more flexible one.

The desire for a husband who's a Christian, a husband who prays with his wife, or a husband who spends time with his family.

The desire for good health, to lose weight, or to not have a terminal disease.

The desire for children who are respectful, who don't have trouble learning, or who are self-sufficient.

The list goes on and on and on. Doesn't it?

We all have desires. Things that we want out of this world either for noble reasons or for reasons to make life a little more comfortable.

And God says He will give us the desires of our hearts when we delight in Him.

But what does that mean exactly? What does that look like? Obviously we don't get everything we want. So what did God mean when He said He would give us the desires of our hearts when we delight in Him?

I spent some time studying this verse, and especially the word "delight." 

I want to delight in the Lord, but honestly sometimes I don't know what more I can do!

"Delight" in Hebrew is 'anag which means to be soft, delicate, dainty, happy about.

If I am soft, delicate, dainty, and happy about (not complaining or resentful), then my desires are able to be molded into God's desires for me. He will give me my desires. They will be from Him instead of me choosing the desires of my heart myself and then asking Him to comply with them. My desires often begin to change.

It wasn't until after my years as a single woman that I realized the true meaning of Psalm 37:4, and ever since I've been recovering from searching after my own desires.

 I wrote an eBook out of this experience called Fall for Him: 25 Challenges from a Recovering Single. It's available now in PDF, Kindle and Nook formats. The purpose is to help single women see that their life is not waiting out there in the future for them. Their life is now. But it can only be fully revealed by being surrendered to Jesus - allowing Him to plant His desires for them in their hearts. If you are single, this book is for you, to help you have the desires of God's heart now. If you're married, this book is a great gift for that single woman in your life who is struggling with the desperate desire to be married. Maybe your niece, cousin, or sister. Maybe your best friend. Go ahead. Reach out your hand. Bless this special woman with your love. Give her an eBook that will help. You can purchase a copy by visiting www.FallforHim.com.


As a woman who was single into her late twenties, I have such a passion for those who are walking the road of singleness to find their deepest heart's desires in Him. I am so thankful to Brenda for braving writing out her own personal journey. Today, Brenda is graciously giving away one e-book to one of you. Yay, right? Whether you are single or have a friend/family member who is single and would like to give this for a Christmas present, please enter below for a chance to have Fall for Him as your very own!

 

  a Rafflecopter giveaway