May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed. – Psalm 20:4

Today's Scripture Reading (June 24, 2022): Psalms 20 & 21

I use a blessing at the end of every marriage ceremony that I conduct. And near the end of the blessing, I say these words; "May your dreams come true, and when they don't, may new dreams arise." Because that is the way that life usually works. We all have dreams, and if we are lucky, some of them might even come true. But the likelihood is that not all of our dreams will be fulfilled in our lives. And that is okay. As we move through life, we grow, and often we find that our dreams change. I have held some of my dreams throughout my entire life, but many dreams have changed as my life has changed. I readily admit that I am a dreamer, and our reality is that as long as we are alive, we continually need new dreams.

David writes what is basically a blessing in Psalm 20. And part of his blessing asks that God will "give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed." David is really saying, "may all your dreams come true." Some biblical scholars read this passage and argue that David could make this request because David's desire was aligned with God's. Maybe. What David desired was to defend the people of God. It was an appropriate desire and one that God could get behind. I agree. And yet there is still something that nags at my imagination.

The truth is that there were times when David's desires were aligned with God. But there were also moments when David's desire and God's seemed to be running in very different directions. And I know that not just because I have read the biblical story, but because I know that that is how our lives work. Even the best of us are only aligned with God at certain times in our life. And it is not that there is something evil about the desires of our hearts. Just that God sometimes wants something different and unexpected.

Jesus, on the night that he was betrayed, prayed to his Father that "I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do" (John 17:4). Father, I have completed the plans you gave me, and soon I will fulfill my heart's desire. Because of his close relationship with his Father, it was something that Jesus could pray, knowing that the desires of his heart were aligned well with God's purposes. But it is something that is beyond us; it is definitely something that is beyond me.

I understand what David was trying to say, but at the same time, I want to leave you with a different blessing today. So here it is. "May God place his desire and his dream in your heart. And may those dreams come true. And when they don't, may God fulfill his heart's desire through you. And may all his plans succeed in your presence, to the glory of God."

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Psalm 22