Your Heart's Desires

Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you your heart's desires.
-Psalm 37:4

I was on my way home from work the other day, and I was praying for my husband and for his desires to be fulfilled and for him to be truly happy in all that he does. I started thinking about how much I want his happiness more than anything and how happy it makes ME to see HIM happy!

Then it dawned on me that this is the way God feels about US! If God loves us so much more than even I could ever love my husband, then how much more does he want us, His children, to be happy? He WANTS our desires to come to pass. He WANTS us to be happy and fulfilled!

Sometimes we get caught up in the things we have to DO for God, like the more we do the better Christians we are, when really that is not the case. Living for Him isn't about a list of "to-dos", it's about having a relationship with Him, and then out of that everything will flow! As our relationship with Him deepens, our words, our actions, our behaviors will reflect the love of God. All He wants us to do is to know Him and to DELIGHT(take pleasure/find satisfaction) in Him!

The more we know Him, follow His ways, and understand and live out His will, the more joyful and satisfied we will be, and that is how God intended it! When we DELIGHT in Him, we will want to obey and live for Him. And that is when true blessing comes. That is when our heart's desires will come to pass because they will line up with what God wants for our lives.

God wants our dreams and desires to come to pass, but only those things that line up with His will. If we are only seeking our own selfish pleasure and satisfaction at the neglect of others or our relationship with Christ, we will find ourselves unhappy. Only in living for God and pursuing HIS will, will we find true joy and contentment!

Why Not?

"I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 1 peter 4:12

When something bad happens to us, the first thing many of us have the tendency to say is, "Why me?" 

I lost my Dad to cancer 7 years ago, my husband went through brain cancer, and I just recently came close to losing my mom in a bad car accident. I will admit that there have been many times when I have asked God the question, "Why?"

When, really, if you think about it, why not? Bad things happen, it's just a part of life. As Christians, we are not exempt. No one is.

As I grow stronger in my faith and closer in my relationship to God, I now know that there is a reason for everything that happens to us, both the good and the bad. Trials will come our way, but what matters is how we deal with them, what we will learn from them, and how we will use them to bring glory and honor to God.

We can be sad and depressed and feel sorry for ourselves and get mad at God....or we can choose to use our trials and tribulations as opportunuties for growth. There is always something to learn from each and every experience that we go through. Our struggles make us stronger, they teach us, they build our character, and they teach us patience.

And I think most importantly, they force us to draw closer to God, to trust in Him, and to truly know what it means to depend fully and completely on Him.

Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. -
Romans 5: 3-4

No Worries

"A man’s life does not consist in the abundance of things he possesses.”-Jesus

I was thinking the other day: why do we always want MORE when we already have SO much?

God has blessed me beyond measure, with more than I need, and yet I still find myself worrying sometimes about things like money and clothes and food. Then I think about the people out there who don’t have even HALF of what I have; that actually, MOST of the world doesn’t have near what I have. And I feel self-conscious about not having the trendiest clothes, the cutest shoes, or the best haircut???  

Sometimes the things that consume our minds are SO not even what really matters. I want to set my sights on Heaven, not the silly things that distract us down here on Earth!

 

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

-Matthew 6:25-27

It Changes Everything

Believing in Christ and knowing Christ are not the same; saying you're a Christian and having a relationship with Jesus are two completely different things.

Having a relationship with Him changes everything.

It changes the way you think.

It changes the way you talk.
It changes the things you pursue.

It changes your mindset.

It changes your perspective.

It changes the way you act.

It changes your priorities.

It changes what you value.

It changes your attitude.
It changes your life.

If you don't see a change in your life, if you are no different than those around you who don't know Christ, I sincerely doubt that you have relationship with Him. If you KNOW Christ and are growing closer to Him each day, then your behavior and attitude will be a reflection of that.
 

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. -Romans 12:2