“Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.”
“Hey preacher. Now you are talking my language!” is often the response in people’s minds when they here ministers talk about God giving things to them. This is a promise worth getting excited about, but you may want to know that it isn’t about you being spoiled with what ever you want. Rather this promise is more about God fixing your heart and its desires. It all hinges on delighting oneself in the Lord.
To delight in thyself in the Lord is to be so in love with Him that you can’t help but think of Him and how you might please Him. To delight is to thoroughly enjoy without want or need for anything else. It is during that process that He begins to teach us what should be a desire worthy of our heart. When we truly get to this place in our heart, and not just our mind, then we are well on our way to having our most sincere desires of the heart satisfied.
This verse was first given to me by the Lord just prior to me getting hired as a teacher; which was a desire of my heart that required 4 years and ridiculous amounts of money. It all started when my wife and I chose to obey the Lord and move to Oregon from Arizona. Our desire was to please the Lord and be delighted to do what he asked of us; regardless of all its challenges and difficulties.
The school year had started and I was not given a job. I very badly wanted to work at the high school I graduated from and be a witness for the Lord there. The year started and there was no job offered. In mid September, during my prayers, the Lord brought this verse to mind and caused me to know that He was going to grant my desire. In just a little over a month the Lord created a job at the exact school I wanted to be at. I have happily worked there ever since.
Do you have unmet desires of the heart? Is it possible you are delighting in something other than Him? You do know He’ll tell you if you sincerely seek Him.
wow - a job in mid-September? How awesome is God?! "God specializes in things thought impossible; He'll do the things others cannot do"! Ok, I know what I've commented so far has focused on the "result" and not the "process", but I agree 100% that loosing ourselves in pleasing God with our lives is the most important part of this promise... And it's what I've been and will continue to aim to do!
ReplyDeleteI trust the school year is going well for you - I'm already 5 weeks down, 11 to go! :) Semesters go so much faster than school years! ...I student teach next semester and I'm SO excited! I turn in my paperwork tomorrow. :)
It's hard for me to imagine you NOT keeping encouraged to continue to reach out to those around you, but... PLEASE do - your family's example has encouraged me and spurred me on to obey God's whispers to share the Good News at school and in other public settings. I still don't think I do it as perfectly as God probably intends, but I don't shy away from it as much. It's so... refreshing... and liberating to realize that I really have NOTHING to be ashamed of!! (Yeah, yeah, I've known that forever, but "it seems each time I tell it, more wonderfully sweet! I love to tell the story!...") :) God bless!
Ranelle: Thanks for the comments. I am excited to see the Lord is moving you closer to student teaching. It will be an exciting time, especially if you get a good teacher to cooperate with.
ReplyDeleteMay God grant you the wisdom to capitalize when He provides the opportunities. In teaching, there will be ridiculous amounts of opportunity.. The challenge is to know which the Lord wants you to pursue. I am confident He'll show you and that you will remain close enough to hear His voice.
"In teaching, there will be ridiculous amounts of opportunity.. The challenge is to know which the Lord wants you to pursue." I like that... and yet it challenges me, too - anything said outside of God's wishes can be very detrimental...
ReplyDeleteI imagine you'll do just fine.
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