May He give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed. We will shout for joy when you are victorious and will lift up our banners in the name of our God. May the LORD grant all your requests. — Psalm 20:4-5
I love Psalm 20:1-5. I sign my books with this blessing because I believe it so much reflects the heart of God.
But this passage does raise questions. If God is so interested in our success, why does success seem to elude so many people?
I would like to suggest to you that God does not fail. God gives us desires because He wants us to have them, and He wants to satisfy them. When those desires get corrupted, He purifies them. God is the One who gives us dreams and plans and goals. Like Him, we imagine the future, and in step with Him, we experience the joy of realizing our dreams.
But sometimes we have to trade up. We need to exchange what we have for something better, because what we have won’t work. If my early plans had succeeded, I would long ago have become a millionaire Ph.D. with a worldwide following. I also would be arrogant and worthless — worthless to God and to anyone else. So, instead, God sent me to a school where I could really learn something — and in this school I cleaned other people’s bathrooms, and drove an old car that kept breaking down — sometimes leaving me stranded and afraid. In those low moments, I learned life’s real lessons and got an education that no certificate on a wall can match.
I keep on having dreams and plans and hopes — and God keeps on unfolding His plan in my life, and in yours. It gets better and better, because, as His plans become our plans, there is no power that can keep us from success.
Be encouraged!
Dwight
Dwight Clough is the author of four Christian books and is an active member of Lake City Church in Madison. This devotional is also available via email and you may review the archives back to 2002. To contact Dwight or Kim, use their contact form. You may also support their ministry.