Desires do not always appear out of nowhere. They are often cultivated.
TEXT
Psalm 1:1–3
KEY VERSE
“But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.”
Psalm 1:2, KJV
REFLECTION
It can be strange how we begin to want things.
There was a time when you could see it and walk away without thinking twice. Then you saw it again and again, became curious, tried it, and returned to it.
And eventually, you begin to want it.
This is how desire grows, and Psalm 1 reveals something about it.
The Psalmist says, “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.”
Notice the progression.
Walking, standing, and eventually sitting.
It begins with exposure. Then familiarity. Then attachment.
What you once passed by, you begin to linger around. What you once resisted, you begin to tolerate. And what you repeatedly tolerate can eventually become something you desire.
Our hearts are constantly learning.
That is why we need to be careful about what we continually watch, listen to, admire, think about, and return to. We may tell ourselves, “It is just entertainment.” “It is just a conversation.” “It is not affecting me.”
But something is happening beneath the surface.
What repeatedly captures our attention begins to shape what occupies our minds. What occupies our minds begins to shape what we admire. And what we admire, we eventually begin to desire.
Then one day we wonder, “Why do I want this so badly?” “Why does this temptation seem irresistible?” “Why do I keep going back to this?”
Because desires are powerful. They can pull us toward something even when we know better.
Perhaps most of the things we desire did not appear suddenly; they were cultivated gradually.
But Psalm 1 does not only warn us about what can shape our hearts. It shows us what should shape them.
“But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.”
The blessed man is not simply avoiding the wrong things. His heart is being filled with something better.
He delights in God’s Word.
This is important because sometimes we ask God to take away negative desires while giving very little attention to His Word.
This man in Psalm 1 meditates on it day and night. This does not simply mean that he reads it in the morning and at night. It means that he occupies his mind with it continually. It becomes a steady, ongoing focus that shapes his choices, reactions, and habits.
So do not be surprised if you are still finding it difficult to live out the Word of God. First, the heart must be filled with it. And as the heart is filled with it, it begins to desire more of it. Then, out of the abundance of the heart, your mouth will speak, your hands and feet will move, and you will become a doer of the Word.
The Psalmist says in Psalm 119, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.”
So if you want a different heart, pay attention to what you are feeding it.
Return to the Word.
You may not feel an immediate change, but keep returning. Return regardless.
And look again at where Psalm 1 takes us. The man who delights in God’s Word becomes “like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season.”
The tree does not produce fruit overnight. It remains planted by the right source, keeps drawing from the water, and in due season, the fruit comes.
Perhaps that is what some of us need to do today.
Stop being surprised by the fruit and start paying attention to the root.
So do not only ask yourself, “What do I desire?”
Ask the deeper question:
“What am I teaching my heart to want?”
KEY TAKEAWAY
Your desires are being cultivated by what you continually give your attention, affection, and appetite to. Be intentional about what you feed your heart.
PRAYER
Lord, teach me to delight in Your Word. Turn my attention back to You and give me a deeper hunger for what is pleasing to You. Help me to guard what I watch, what I listen to, what I think about, and what I continually return to. In Jesus’ name, amen.
TODAY’S CHALLENGE
Read Psalm 1:1–3 again slowly. Notice the progression: walking, standing, sitting; delighting, meditating, becoming. Then ask yourself: What am I continually giving my attention to, and what is it teaching my heart to want?
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