“Delight yourself in the LORD; And He will give you the desires of your heart.” -Psalm 37:4
Do you take time to delight yourself in the Lord? To build a closer relationship with Him and get to know Him more personally?
Church and church groups are nice, but if you don’t already, learn to look for God on a deeper more personal level. Our one on one relationship with God is the most important relationship we can nurture and it will effect every relationship in our lives!
Where To Begin
Commit to spending alone time with God. It doesn’t have to be an hour, perhaps it is only twenty minutes. Make sure to remove distractions and try to avoid interruptions. Silence your phone, seek the solace of your room or a less traveled spot outside.
Consider getting a devotional and reading thru it, little by little. Perhaps you have specific prayers on your heart. Find a prayer journal, or even designate a basic journal for prayers. There is a fascinating wonder that happens when we journal and write things down. I often feel like God inspires my pen. Thoughts come out that I hadn’t considered before, ideas and epiphanies can jump off the page!
As I journal, as I write my heart on the pages, I love to look back and see how God shows up and addresses every single thing. Sometimes I don’t even know how to deal with a situation, so I just pray for direction. God is incredible, when I ask and seek Him, He has a magnificent way of showing up and directing me. This direction comes in a hundred different ways, but if I wasn’t looking for it, I don’t think I’d see it.
You Find What You Look For
And that’s a point I want to make – you find what you look for. That is why I want to encourage you to delight yourself in the Lord. To really lean in and build a relationship with Him. Nothing in life is certain except for God’s unfailing love. And to have that love to cling to is priceless!
The world seems to encourage self discovery, knowing yourself better, being self aware. I think – from personal experience – too much self is actually selfish. But on the flipside, building a relationship with God improves all relationships. It gives you insights into your relationships and ideally helps you be your best self!
I do think understanding oneself is important in order to realize what sets us off so that we can learn to be less sensitive and triggered. To also realize our strengths so that we can use them and be a blessing to others. And then to take things to the next level and understand what God has placed on our hearts individually so that we can walk in a way that pleases Him!
So look for that deeper relationship, that security and confidence that only comes from God. Ask for His guidance and then listen for His direction. And when He directs you be sure you obey! Eagerly, expectantly, and faithfully. The more you seek Him and build a relationship with Him, the better you will get to know Him and discover the life He has created for you!
Delight Yourself in the Lord
When we truly delight ourselves in the Lord, He will give us the desires of our heart. These aren’t just words, but reality! When we get on a path that honors and pleases Him, and we know Him well enough to know what and how to ask for things, we will ask for things that please Him.
I’ve shared before – and I mean it – I ask Him to make His plans my dreams. I want to be so inline with what He is doing in my life and what He needs me to do, that my heart yearns for what He has for me!
This doesn’t mean that I don’t have a dream of my own, because I certainly do, but rather that I pray that these dreams line up with His plans. If they don’t, I don’t need them. His plans are perfect and He sees the big picture. And it is perfectly appropriate to hope and dream for things that are inline with how He operates. He’ll take care of the details!
Has He ever completely replaced a dream of mine and taken it away. Yes, He has. Do I feel cheated or regret over this? Not in the least! Let me tell you why: He replaced that dream with something better.
Years ago, I worked from home and wanted to get out more and broaden my horizon, so I considered different interests and settled on getting my pilots license. It would be fun, exciting, out of my comfort zone and just all around a neat experience. I prayed about it and worked towards it. Found where I could get lessons and read books on the process. And then I learned one detail that I realized wasn’t right for me – it was literally a deal breaker.
Was I crushed and disheartened? I honestly don’t recall, but I’m sure I was disappointed. But shortly following that is when the desire to open a boutique stepped in so I started following that opportunity and it led me to so much more than I imagined! And that’s how God operates – when we surrender our all to Him and trust Him through the process, He always takes our hopes and dreams and then improves on them! How delightful is that?!
Until Next Time!
Hope.
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