“May all your wishes come true…” We hear that phrase so often in Christmas songs, on Christmas cards and in the seasonal cartoons. As a child we believe Santa will make this happen and as the years go by and we get disillusioned by our childhood disappointments, we soon come to the decision that none of our wishes will ever be granted. Ever so subtly, the belief has been built that no one can fulfil our deepest desires. Even as Christians, we believe that God’s richest gifts are for other people. For some reason, they aren’t for us because our wishes never come true.

Let me introduce you to Elizabeth and Zacharias. These senior pillars of the church were obedient, prayerful people who waited on God and had surrendered their lives to Him. However, they were never able to have a child and this was something they deeply desired. Suddenly God told them through an angel that they were going to have a child and Zacharias was so stupefied that he questioned the angel and was unable to speak until Elizabeth gave birth. This couple delighted in the Lord and He gave them the desires of their hearts. 

Elizabeth was the cousin of Mary. Mary was a young girl but she also was faithful and obedient to the Lord. This ‘highly favored’ maiden had been brought up in the Jewish tradition and would therefore have been taught to wait for their Messiah, who had been prophesied for centuries. Was her deepest desire that she would be the mother of Jesus Christ? The Bible doesn’t say that, but when the angel of the Lord told her that she would give birth to Immanuel, God With Us, she said she was the Lord’s servant and accepted this gift, surrendering her life to His will.

Mary’s song to the Lord is one of the most beautiful in the New Testament. You can find it in Luke chapter one, verses 46-55. She is aware of the magnitude of the event and praises the Lord who has delighted her with this precious baby. Mary delighted in the Lord in her life and found that He blessed her with more than she could ever desire.

In Psalm 37:4, the Scripture says to, “Delight yourself also in the Lord and He shall give you the desires of your heart.” At Christmas we are reminded that ‘delighting’ includes obedience, surrender and full commitment to the Lord’s work in our lives. He is willing and able to give us the ‘desires’ of our hearts, that which we long for more than life itself. Sometimes He gives us His own desires, that which we didn’t even realize we longed for, but when we receive it we know it is more than we could even have imagined.

This Christmas, whatever you are longing for or dreaming about, whatever your need or desire, know that the loving Christ Child is an Almighty God who is more than willing and able to meet your every need. He may perhaps even alter your desires to better fulfil His perfect plan for your life.

Whatever His gifts to you this Christmas, Jehovah Jireh, Our Provider, has more for you than what is wrapped under the tree. He alone can give you the desires of your heart.  

Merry Christmas!