Once upon a time there was a young boy who wanted a tiny car very, very badly. Â That boy was me. Â But before I continue…
Recently I wrote a post about dreams and desires, and whether our dreams today are the same as dreams in the Bible. Since we Americans love, love, love our dreams, that topic always provokes a response. And, sooner or later, the quoting of Psalm 37:4. For the record, I consider Psalm 37:4 to be one of the – if not the – most dangerous verse in the Bible.
Now back to our story.
I grew up in a small town on the eastern edge of Iowa. In case you’ve never noticed, the eastern edge of Iowa looks sort of like a face, and my hometown was on Iowa’s nose.
But my mother was from Omaha, all the way across the other side of Iowa on Nebraska’s eastern edge. So at least twice a year we’d pack up the car and toddle all the way from Iowa’s nose to Iowa’s, well, butt, I guess. We’d hit Iowa’s butt, then flop across the Missouri River to Omaha. The big city.
When I was young, the most exciting part of arriving in Omaha was driving by the Mutual of Omaha building, famous for the hit TV show Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom. Each week animal expert Marlin Perkins took America all over the world to see dangerous and exciting animals. As far as I was concerned, Marlin Perkins was the Walt Disney of non-robotic animals. Driving by the Mutual of Omaha building as a kid, I remember thinking, “Marlin Perkins is in there somewhere. And his animals.” It never occurred to me that the show wasn’t filmed in Omaha. Â But I digress.
The next most exciting thing in Omaha was Peony Park, a small family amusement park featuring flowers, slides, and an modest assortment of unambitious kiddie rides. My favorite was the small track where kids could drive mini gas-powered cars, like Disney’s Autopia. I had never before experienced the thrill of steering a powered vehicle, nevermind the fact that the rail in the center of the roadway gave no more than 18 inches of steering leeway from one side to the other. It was limited free will, but it was free will nonetheless. And gas-powered.
After my first taste of powered driving I was hooked. I wanted one of those mini cars. A wrench, I figured, was all it would take to free one from the track and then I could be mini-driving all over Omaha. I could mini-drive over to see Marlin Perkins, who would say, “Nice ride! Shall we go on safari together? I’ll bring my rhino!” Â And then he’d fetch a rhino from somewhere near the accounting department.
That night, sleeping at my grandparents’ house on Charles Street, I dreamt about my mini-car. I dreamt that I awoke the next morning to find my gleaming mini-car in the driveway, polished and waiting for my six year-old foot to stomp on the gas and blaze out onto Charles Street, local kids staring in envious awe. “That kid from Iowa’s nose has a sweet ride!” they’d say.
Realizing I had been dreaming, I urgently set about to make my dream a reality by praying for the mini-car to be there in the driveway when I looked out the window. I prayed HARD. I prayed that God would grant my wish – that sometime in the night He himself would have taken a wrench to the mini-car in Peony Park and delivered it, Santa-like, to my grandparent’s driveway on Charles Street. There was nothing immoral about a mini-car. Marlin Perkins and I would drive responsibly around Omaha. It was a good wish. Surely God would grant it.
But he didn’t.
When I finally had the nerve to pull back the curtain, I stared at an empty driveway. No mini-car. God had not come through for me.
And so a six-year old boy had his first experience with unanswered prayer. It wasn’t a bad prayer. It wasn’t for revenge, or for all the money in the world. Just a slightly-used carnival vehicle. I would have been eternally grateful. Instead, I was deeply disappointed.
And so you learn early on that just because you want something doesn’t mean God is going to give it to you. Apparently it doesn’t work that way. But then you bump into that verse. That famous verse. That dangerous verse. Psalm 37:4.
“Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”
You hear it in church or on Christian radio or see it cross-stitched on a friend’s dining room wall. Nowadays it’s Photoshopped all over Instagram. Delight yourself in the Lord, and he’ll give you whatever you want.
Then why didn’t I get my mini-car?? Wasn’t I “delighted” enough with God?? If I practiced my “delight” a little harder, THEN would I get my mini-car?? What level of holy delight must I achieve, say, on a scale of 1 to 10? Will a six get me a mini-car? What about a pony? What about world peace? How, exactly, does this magic trick work?!?
So easy to cross-stitch. So hard to understand.
It’s that exact combination – short and catchy yet theologically inscrutable – that makes Psalm 37:4, in my mind, perhaps the most dangerous verse in the Bible. Especially for innocent kids with innocent longings. So what do we do with this verse? Well, I’ve got a few thoughts. Here’s where IÂ start:
1. Zoom back to the whole Bible. Â Sometimes a verse means exactly what it appears to mean. “Jesus wept” is a good example. No mystery there. Jesus wept. But sometimes the true meaning of a verse is BENEATH the surface, not right on top.
So how do we know if the superficial interpretation is the correct interpretation? The first step is to zoom back and take the verse in the context of the entire Bible. In the case of Psalm 37:4, we ask this question: Do we see, looking across the entire Bible, an abundance of people who “delight” in the Lord and then get their heart’s desires? Let’s just zoom in on one – Paul.
Paul was definitely in line with God. He was filled with the “joy of the Lord,” which, if it isn’t exactly delight, at least lives on the same cul-de-sac. Paul appears highly qualified to get the desires of his heart, if this is the correct reading of our verse. So … did Paul get the “desires of his heart?” Well, unless his heart’s desires included shipwrecks, stonings, poisonous snake bites, prison, failed missions trips, broken friendships and, ultimately, death by Roman sword, I’d have to say the answer is “no.”
Paul even specifically prays to be healed of some sort of condition. (The “thorn in his flesh.”) Three times he prays. “Hey God – my life would really be more enjoyable if I didn’t have this – you know – ‘condition.'” Three times he prays. And God says, “Nope.”
What gives?? Who deserves a break more than Paul?? The missionary journeys, the ship wrecks … and all he wants is a little relief from his halitosis or toenail fungus or whatever it is that’s keeping him awake at night. And God says, “Nope.” Sheesh.
So when we zoom back and hold our initial interpretation of Psalm 37:4 up to the whole Bible, it falls apart pretty quickly. Apparently, delighting in God does NOT get us whatever we want.
“So WHAT does it MEAN, man?!?” (Delivered like William Shatner. Probably shirtless.)
Okay – next step:
2. What Testament are we in? Â The Psalms are in the Old Testament. Old Testament verses can sometimes have different applications for ancient Israel (the original setting), and for the church (our present setting). In other words, the good news of Jesus Christ is a lens through which we read the Old Testament, often subtly altering the conclusions we reach about specific verses and teachings. Following me?
SO – Psalm 37:4 … in the setting of ancient Israel: Most Psalms were written by or for kings of Israel. Many Psalms have a royal application – they apply to Israel’s kings in different ways than they would apply to common Israelites. Psalm 37:4 seems to have a fairly specific meaning for Israel’s kings … if you make Israel’s God your delight (instead of other gods, gold, horses, or adding to your wife collection), the God of Israel will give you the desires of your heart. Yay! Gold and wives! No! What a good king of Israel desires – if he has made God his delight – is the peace, security and prosperity (“shalom”) of Israel. If you focus on God, your kingship will succeed on the measures most important to the health of the nation of Israel. Get it?
“But I’m not a king of ancient Israel!” Right. The original usage of that verse probably doesn’t apply to you. You aren’t a king of Israel. Your focus – or lack thereof – on God will not affect the “shalom” of Israel.
Great! So is Psalm 37:4 useless?? Should we pull the cross-stitched versions off our walls and the Photoshopped versions out of our Instagram feeds?
Heck no! Now we go back and read the verse through the lens of the good news of Jesus, and see if there’s a meaning for the church.
Okay – follow me. “Delight yourself in the Lord.” We make God our delight – the source of our joy. Not the world. Not the world’s pleasures. Not power, sex, money. Not anything that ever appears on a magazine cover in the checkout line. We make God our source of joy.
How do we do that? Really important first step. Actually, the first step in following Jesus.
We die.
Yeah. Chipper, isn’t it? Cross-stitch that line on your throw pillow. We die. We take up our cross, and die to ourselves. We are “crucified in Christ,” and we “no longer live.” That’s how Paul put it. The guy sustained by the joy of the Lord even with a pit viper hanging off his forearm. Not to mention the halitosis.
We die to ourselves. We die to our ambition. Our will. Our goals. Our – gasp! – dreams. Our desires. We put them on the alter and kill them, because as long as they live, they will be forever trying to put themselves on the throne. The throne that belongs to Christ. Anything we can’t let go of is an idol. I’m going to say that again in case you missed it. Anything we can’t let go of is an idol. Following Christ starts with an act of murder. Our dreams. Our desires. Our lives. Dead.
THEN we are reborn in Christ. He lives through us. He becomes our delight. He becomes our joy. Our strength. Our first love. Our deepest desire.
And then we back up and we read Psalm 37:4, this time through the lens of the good news of Jesus. “Delight yourself in the Lord” – Make God our delight. Make him our joy. Our focus. Our dream.
“And he will give you the desires of your heart.” If we have died to ourselves, and God has become our delight, what is our heart’s desire? Communion with him. His love, grace and mercy. His companionship. And the fruit of the Spirit. Peace, joy, love, patience, kindness, and so on. And when these are the desires of our heart, God is more than happy to give them to us. In fact, he promises he will.
Seriously. A pony – a mini-car – even a great job or a nice house. They all pale in comparison to loving, joy-filled communion with the Creator of the universe. Seriously.
So let’s go back to Paul and his halitosis. If you remember back, God didn’t actually answer Paul’s request for healing with a “no.” He answered with a statement.
“My grace is sufficient for you.”
Grace – “unmerited favor.” God’s overwhelming and unearned love. “Paul, compared to my overwhelming and sustaining love for you, that little ‘thorn’ really isn’t a big deal. Besides, it reminds you that you aren’t doing this work through your own strength – I’m working IN you.”
And Paul was filled with joy, because God was giving him EXACTLY what his heart desired.
In future posts we can talk more about how to teach this truth to kids and how to live it in front of them, because this is hugely central to life as a Jesus follower. But right now, I just want you to rest. What is your heart’s desire? Something so small it can be captured on the cover of a drugstore magazine? Or someone so big they fill the universe?
Misunderstood, Psalm 37:4 makes God the means to an end and leads us into idolatry. That’s why it’s “dangerous.” Understood correctly, the promise of Psalm 37:4 is absolutely true.
Bottom line: We don’t love God because he can give us our dreams. We love God because he can, and will, give us himself.
Get it? Leave a note and tell me what you think.
What a great reminder! Would love to hear more in the future about teaching this to our kids, especially in our current North American culture.
Dont listen to this idiot
I’m a college friend of your brother Rob, and I follow and enjoy your posts, even though I’m agnostic. I’m not your intended audience, and maybe I shouldn’t comment, but just before I saw your Facebook post, I saw one of those “People also shared” alerts. One of the things people had shared was the BibleHub.com link to Leviticus 20:13; the one about gays being put to death. It’s been shared 9,108 times, apparently. I would respectfully disagree with you, and say that this is the most dangerous verse in the Bible, because it has been the direct cause of many, many killings over the last couple of millennia. Of course, other verses have also inspired people to kill. How many tens of thousands of women have been killed by people following Exodus 22:18? Those are the verses that I find truly dangerous.
I used to be an agnostic/atheist (nonbeliever), so I can see where you’re coming from, but you’re missing the point. Comparing and weighing God’s Old Testament laws to our wayward hearts is obviously not where Phil was coming from. It’s sad that you’ll point out a verse from Leviticus and hold it up for the world to see out what you perceive as hypocrisy and injustice, but there’s no comment on the past and contemporary deaths of martyred Christians, like the 70 Christian men, women and children recently murdered in a Pakistan.
Hi Robert, I can see that this wasn’t the point of the post, but I think it still bears pointing out that there are verses in the Bible that are truly dangerous, in the sense that they are directly responsible for many, many people being killed, tortured, and shunned. Yes, I do believe that is an injustice, and a very grave one. I said nothing about hypocrisy, however, because nothing in the post struck me as hypocritical. The killing of Christians for their beliefs is of course a terrible thing also, and rest assured I’m against it, but I don’t see what it has to do with my basic point, which is about which Bible verses are truly dangerous. The thing is, there are Christians who still take those verses very seriously–I imagine that’s why so many people were sharing the one from Leviticus on FB. Someone in my home state of Arkansas recently posted it outside of their pizza restaurant, and added, “Why don’t we listen?”.
I agree that passages in Leviticus and Deuteronomy that spell out the penal code for ancient Israel have had more physical impact than the verse I have referenced, but those verses have to be (and are widely) understood as describing the penal code for ancient Israel. Some of those verses have been misapplied over the years (witch hunts being a good example), but the Church has generally understood the difference between the Old Testament’s ethical commands and the ceremonial commands and penal commands. Ceremonial and penal commands were specifically for ancient Israel. Ethical commands are reinforced in the NT, and therefore for all time. Because it’s easy to explain why the penal commands aren’t followed today, I don’t consider those verses as spiritually dangerous. Misinterpreted and misapplied, of course, they would be quite physically harmful. I don’t want to be executed for picking up sticks on Saturday.
Hope that makes sense.
Phil
That does make sense–I wouldn’t want to be executed for that either 🙂 I know that the majority of Christians don’t follow penal commands like this anymore (and obviously not most ceremonial ones either–the pizza joint I’m talking about in Arkansas had ham as an available topping, for example.) It’s just that, even if it’s easy to explain why Christians shouldn’t follow these commands, some of them haven’t gotten the message. Not that they (commonly) advocate death for homosexuals, but they do still use such verses as a license to treat them badly. They still are misapplied (I’m not sure they were misinterpreted–their meaning is pretty clear, alas). But your post was addressing a different topic, and I’ve been enough of a gadfly. I had seen some pretty nasty comments from Christians about gays before reading your post (in the wake of an awful tragedy), and seeing how many times people had shared that Leviticus verse got to me a little. But you guys aren’t that hateful breed of Christian, and I certainly don’t mean to paint the whole religion with the same brush. Cheers.
Indeed. It is a strangely unthinking person who says “homosexuals must die because the Bible says so” while eating a ham sandwich. But, unfortunately, such people do exist. That’s a topic for a different blog post, I reckon.
And one I’ll look forward to reading.
And this is the problem of people having an incomplete and superficial understanding of scripture, the context of it within its setting, and the trouble of exact work for word translations from its language and exact time it was written. Jesus didn’t go around killing people (in fact sparing the life of an adulteress when the people were ready to play god giving out what they thought was divine judgement), and he is god in the form of man and the example of how man should strive to be like.
This is good! And I too would like to hear more about teaching this to our kids, especially teens and very early 20-somethings (you know, the ones who know everything or at least more than we do)!
Yes and Amen!
The repeated theme of the psalm and the context of the verse is “the wicked will be cut off.”
If they delight in Him, God will give the king and people of Israel justice and judgment for the wicked.
I wanted one of those cars too! They had them at Kings Island.
In 2nd grade, I tried a similar experiment. I decided that, when we lined up for lunch, I would wait and get in the back of the line because “the last shall be first.”
I wasn’t made first.
My 8 year old theologian’s heart decided that I just have misunderstood the meaning of “the last shall be first.”
I know my mother prayed for me a lot, so I think this accounts for why this lunch line tragedy did not wreck my faith. That sounds like I’m joking, but I’m not. Moms’ prayers rock!
Almost anytime I watch/read/listen to something about Christianity in today’s media, it always comes out as A) really political, or B) really cutesy and clean. This is not so with your stuff, Phil.
Your stuff is challenging and convicting–not to mention legitimately funny.
I know that God’s will must be done and not whatever we want, but it pains me that you are filled with so much life-changing, remarkable knowledge and passion about the faith, and yet anytime I talk about you to others, I have to explain who you are.
It’s just sad when there are brilliant Christian thinkers like you in the world and yet the only ones who get any mass attention are the Pat Robinsons and Joel Osteens of the world.
In your book “Me Myself & Bob” you talk about always wanting to impact others and show them Christ. And whenever I have the pleasure of reading your posts, I see Christ. I see joy, and thoughfulness, and conviction, and a realization of how great God truly is.
Thank you for sharing your wisdom with us, Phil. Our world needs it.
When I was facing a major life decision after college (where the “desire of my heart” was that I could have both options and just not have to choose) and was pondering this verse, I had a wise friend help me interpret it almost the same way you have: pursue Jesus and follow Him, and either that will lead to a miraculous merging of my options or He will change the desires of my heart in a way that brings Him glory in my life…either way I’m secure in knowing I have put following Jesus first and the thing I was praying for becomes much less important. It was a great lesson that I’ve seen prove true over and over since then.
For me this verse has always meant that when we truly delight in the Lord He places within us the desires we are supposed to have. That our desires become synched up with His desires. This, like with Paul, may lead us in to uncomfortable or even dangerous earthly circumstances, but it doesn’t matter because we have the joy of experiencing God fulfilling these desires through His presence in our lives. The desires He gives are not superficial as with fleshly desires but are eternal and so much more satisfying because only God can bring them to pass. Is this not why Christ died. To reconcile us to participate in the eternal kingdom He always intended for us. When we so delight in Him that He fills us with His desires we can live in the confidence that we will see every bit of that desire fulfilled and no longer be confused over why we didn’t receive our superficial wants.
I like that, Robin. Good thoughts!
Well written,Phil. Thank you for the work you do.
As I am coming of age, working at my first “church job”, finishing up bible college, and getting married in a few short months, I often struggle with anxiety (wonder why!) and a fear of doing the wrong thing. However, I’ve noticed that the more I ignore the “trappings” of the world around me and focus on being “with” God, that my anxieties and fears fade away. It’s like driving up to a mountain in front of you. As you approach, it slowly fills your entire view until you can’t see anything else. The closer you walk towards God, the more enthralled you will be by him, and the more he “will give you the desires of your heart.” Great post!
love it, our faith is first about Him and our relationship with Him… Love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, strength… when He is our top priority, and we are in step with His Spirit right where He wants us to be, we would not want to be anywhere else no matter what is happening, no matter how difficult or messy the circumstances He puts us in… and He will put us in messy, difficult situations to minister to those He brings into our sphere… and I know that is the 2nd thing our faith is about, to love and minister to those around us aka love our neighbors as ourselves! and He has wired this desire into our hearts, that He would use us in meaningful ministry with eternal impact, that we have significant purpose, when this desire comes out of our relationship with Him first, then our ministry will be for His glory, not just because it’s a good thing for the world and makes us look good. It is important for the Church to get the relational with Him before the missional! it seems we tend to switch the priority of these 2 commands in our 1st world churches. hope that makes sense!
I wonder if you could get one of those cars now that you’re older and possessing of more material resources.
I wonder if you would bother getting one if you could.
I wonder if it was ever really your heart that wanted that wanted it, or just your metaphorical “stomach” – that part of you that is easily swayed by every passing appetite.
On another note, I’ve gotten a lot of mileage out of potentially interpreting that verse as meaning that God will put desires in your heart in accordance with His desires.
To prevent extremism, we must accept the Bible’s flexibility and accordingly, we have to amend the rule. If you can establish the teachings of the Holy Bible, then you will come to the rescue of non-violence, such as militancy. As well as we have to learn to the little child with bible teachings.
Thank you for sharing!
This year, I’ve inherited a 2 story home, a truck, a lake front home, everyTHING I’ve ever wanted and more (my heart’s desire, if you will). But all I want now is to have my simple life back in my single wide.
I really didn’t want such a huge place to clean and fix and so many taxes and insurances to pay.
I LOVED my tiny piece of land in the country. I have miscarried twins buried there under a special rose bush rooted by a church sister, during the same month my first of five children was conceived.
I had many small “dreams” about that place. Sure it needed a new floor and had a mold problem, but that’s not too expensive of a problem with such small square footage.
But my mother-in-law has early Alzheimer’s and there is an apartment at the end of the detached garage for her here. We had no place for her there.
We inherited debt too. Formally, we were debt free. There are a few assets to liquidate but we are not salespeople. It ain’t easy.
Nearly every night I have dreams about crushed dreams, scarry monsters, and chaos out of my control.
I believe in my Creator (I love the dinosaurs in the Garden of Eden in your new book!?). I fear God. I love Jesus. But I don’t bare the fruit of the Spirit as I should.
You story and testimony gives me hope and incourragement. Your podcasts make me laugh. And Buck Dever educates our whole family.
Thank you, sincerely,
Jennifer Stone
Thank you for writing this post, Mr. Vischer. I heard you speak about how God killed your dream at a convocation at Liberty University several years ago. Recently, the Lord has been speaking to me about dreams and your convocation message came to mind. While I know the convocation message can be found on LU’s website, I searched for “God killed my dream Phil” on Google and found your blog. I needed to read just what you wrote today. May God bless you and continue to help you (and the entire body of Christ) to delight in Him.
I know that this is an old post, but I was reading it again because I had really enjoyed the first time and was planning to use some of the points in a coming discussion with one of my children. While reading it, I laughed out loud when I reached your comparative verse exampling simplicity, “Jesus wept”. For years, I taught adult Bible class, and my greatest fun was making people look at Bible stories from a different angle, such as a class I used to teach on my legal defense of Judas.
“Jesus wept” was one of my favorites. Seemingly simple, just as you described. But is it? Jesus, standing before the tomb of his friend Lazarus, about to bring him back to life. And from where? For a few days, Lazarus had been absent the body, so he was “in the presence of the Lord”. Jesus was about to rip poor Lazarus right out of eternal joy and back into his failing human existence, only to die again some years later. Did Jesus weep in sadness for the death of his friend, the sadness of his family, or because he was about to ruin Lazarus’ whole day?
Or had He wept because of the crowds’ disbelief in His ability to call Lazarus forth? This crowd, specifically Martha and Mary, had houses Jesus and Mary had listened to Him while Marhta did “chores”. Fast forward to the event of Lazarus and now we see Martha approach Jesus and “blame Him for the death of her brother Lazarus”. To me it appears that Jesus wept due to the disbelief, but again that’s my interpretation and revelation from the Word.
What if you “kill” your dream by sacrificing it to God, only to have Him return it … and then it becomes impossible (to human eyes, anywho) to fulfill?
When I was a teenager, I had a dream. (I won’t go into details at this time, but will later if you ask.) It was feasible, it was benign, and I saw absolutely no reason within Scripture or the practice of my Faith that it couldn’t happen. Nevertheless, being a good Christian, I sacrificed it to the Lord, turning my whole heart into giving it up for Him. Shortly thereafter, and for years following, it kept coming back to me, especially when I was in a spiritually “good” place. I had no reason to not believe He had given the dream back to me.
Over the following years, I had only three opportunities (each 15-20 years apart) to see the dream fulfilled. In each case, most especially the last, I prayed “not my will, but Thine be done,” and meant it. The first two times it didn’t happen, I was comforted by the story of Abraham not having offspring – there was still time; it could still happen.
But the third time …
Again, I took the disappointment and sent it to Him with “Thy will be done.” Then I tripped on Psalm 37:4. I believe He sent it my way as encouragement, but it backfired. In my mind, He had returned my dream to me and then killed the last opportunity for it to be fulfilled. I felt like it had been ripped out of my heart, leaving a gaping hole. I have since prayed for peace in my soul and understanding of His will in all this, but have gotten nothing but silence in return.
The dream is time sensitive – there will come a point when I will simply be too old, and that time is rapidly approaching. (And no, it has nothing to do with having offspring – I’m fine with that ship having sailed.) Imagine it this way – a dream to be an Olympic athlete, and age brings you chronic arthritis. (An imperfect analogy, but workable.)
I’ve been loyal to Him and done my absolute best to be delighted in Him for (literally) decades. Now, I find my faith in His promises (especially this one) to be dying, if not completely dead. (Has He exempted me from this one? It’s a recurrent thought.)
What do I do in this case?
Hi – that’s a tough situation to be in. I think my response is that we need to release our dreams over and over again. If losing the dream will leave “a gaping hole” in your heart, I’m not sure you’ve really let it go. Whatever can leave a hole in your heart is at the center of your life, and that’s where God should be. So that’s my push back for you. If letting go of this dream will leave a gaping hole in your heart, have you ever really released it to God?
It’s hard to do, but God is the only one we can’t live without. Dreams, to be quite honest, are a dime a dozen.
Phil