May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed.
Psalm 20:4 NIV
Fulfilled Plans
Every day, people in Churchill Manitoba have to be careful to make plans for their safety – but not from an accident or from other human beings – they leave their cars unlocked. This is to offer an escape to any pedestrians who see a polar bear. Residents also leave their homes unlocked for the same reason. About 15,500 of the 25,000 polar bears in the world live in Churchill. At times the town has more polar bears than it does people.
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There are those who seem to think God is nothing more than a great Santa Claus in the sky. They ask Him to give them all they want – to act like a genie in a bottle and grant them their wishes. They use verses like Psalm 20:4: “May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed.” The context of this verse is something altogether different. The Psalmist is speaking to those who are in distress. They are crying to be delivered, faithfully worshipping the Lord while they wait for Him to come to their aid. This has nothing to do with material blessing – it has everything to do with desires that are focused on the Lord. They had made plans to be delivered and the Psalmist prays that the Lord will bless those plans for deliverance. We need to pray the same prayer for our brothers and sisters around the globe who are being persecuted because they love Jesus. Their desire is that they stand strong in Christ and be delivered in God’s time. Pray that the Lord will give them the desires of their hearts. Pray it for yourself too, as you set your desire on Jesus.
These have been words from the heart.
Bob Beasley