The Desire of Our Eyes

God gives us many beautiful things in life. But it is important to remember the old saying, "The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away". The same God that so generously gives us things of beauty can take away those things. Our God is a justifiably jealous God (Exodus 34:14), and does not want us giving to another the affection that rightfully belongs to Him. It is common to think of things like work, sports, hobbies, and family competing for the attention and affection that might belong to God, but even 'religious' or 'spiritual' stuff can rob Him of the affection and attention He deserve. We can love our worship music, our Bible studies, our witnessing, our praying, and even our church buildings in a way that comes between us and our relationship with the Lord.

Even though the Old Testament temple was built by King Solomon per God's instructions, it became the object of Israel's affection and adoration, to the exclusion of their affection and adoration of God, Himself.

God was going to wipe away the temple with a single stroke.

Also the word of the LORD came to me, saying, "Son of man, behold, I take away from you the desire of your eyes with one stroke;
(Eze 24:15-16)

With one stroke, God can remove something from our lives that we hold dear.

So when we read in Psalm 37:4 that God will give us the desires of our hearts, we best remember that this is all predicated on our taking great delight in our relationship with the Lord.

Yours in Him,
Pastor B.