Blog

LESSON 8: WISDOM DELIGHTS IN THE LORD

Does God really want us to have the desires of our hearts? A quick reading of Psalm 37:4 seems to point us in that direction. Proverbs 13:12 lays out the very common sense principle that a longing or desire fulfilled is a blessing, while hope deferred is discouraging. We can all relate to that. But what of our ungodly desires? Here in lies the danger of reading any scripture in isolation, disconnected from its context and from the whole counsel of God on any subject. Let’s look at Psalm 37 a little closer and then at the words of Jesus regarding this subject.

In its context, Psalm 37 is a call to patience before the Lord when it seems like the wicked are prospering. Specifically the child of God is called to active waiting. “Trust in the Lord and do good” (vs 3), “Take delight in the Lord” (vs 4), “Commit your way to the Lord” (vs 5). Receiving the desires of your heart is set in the context of this attitude of the heart. I will ask you, if you are trusting in the Lord and doing good, delighting in the Lord, and committing your way to the Lord, what kinds of deep desires do you think will take root in your heart, the godly variety or the worldly variety? When we delight in, find our joy in, the Lord, He becomes the desire of our hearts and there is nothing that the Lord wants to give us more than Himself. When we have Him, we begin to share His desires. Jesus reinforces this point in Matthew 6 where he exhorts his followers not to worry about the needs or wants of this world, but instead to desire first God, His Kingdom, and His goodness. The Father will take care of our needs, but He wants to be our one desire. In His presence there is fullness of joy. His presence is the good in the good news.

This is my cry, my one desire
Just to be where You are, Lord
Now and forever it’s more than a song
My one desire is to be with You
Is to be with You Jesus
(Songwriters: Joel Houston, One Desire lyrics © Capitol Christian Music Group)

BIG IDEA: Wisdom desires the things of God.

MEDITATING ON THE WORD:
Proverbs 13:12
Psalm 37:4-6
Psalm 145:19
Proverbs 11:23
Romans 8:27

SECTION VERSE:
Then you will understand what is  right and just and fair—every good path. For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. – Proverbs 2:9-10

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

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

• Read and discuss Prov. 13:12 and Psalm 37:4-5.
• What are some of your desires?
• What is God’s desire for all of us? (relationship w/ Him, peace, joy, love, purpose,…)
• On what should we base our desires?
• How can you apply what you learned in Quest this week?

– – –

ABOUT FAMILY QUEST: At Reston Bible Church, we firmly believe that parents are a child’s first and most important spiritual leader.  In order to support you that mission, we have created a parent devotional and some discussion starters to go along with each lesson your grade school age children are learning at Quest on Sundays. Our hope and prayer is that this material will help you to engage with your children around the topics they are learning on Sunday mornings, answer their questions, go deeper with them, and find real, day-to-day applications. We are honored to be able to partner with you in the critical task of sharing Christ with the next generation.