I kept a regular journal from the time I was 15. I laugh when I read some of the entrances now. Silly things. But, there are so many deep things, too. I wrote about dreams, plans and hopes. Those journals are full of things I believed God called me to do. They were also filled with plans that I made for myself. None of my plans were bad, they just weren't the plans God had for me.
Psalm 37:4 is a well known verse "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." I think most of my life I've read it like this "Spend time with God, enjoy getting to know Him, and He will give you whatever your heart desires." I think there is some truth to that. He desires to bless us, that is His Father heart.
However, as I've grown in the Lord, I have come to read this with deeper faith. "Find your delight in Him, enjoy His presence, and He will fill your heart with desires for His will, for more of Him." That, of course, is my loose interpretation of scripture.
To find our joy in Him, to be satisfied fully in Him is what our hearts truly desire to begin with. We try to fill that God-sized space in our lives with things, people, events, our own plans. The result is always an empty feeling that leaves us longing for more.
The desires of our heart are truly to know God and to be known by Him. To have communion with Him and know His will. His will is that our desires line up with His desires. What is His desire for you today? My friend, His desire is for you to know Him, to walk with Him, to know His presence and to be led by Him. It's His desire that you walk in His grace and favor and know His glory.
What is holding you back from finding delight in Him? I know for me, I fill up my time with busy things, or bossy things as my friend Karrilee puts it. Let's surrender those things to the Lord today and let Him give us our hearts desire. Will you do that with me?
Father, we surrender those things that we try to fill our lives with in place of you. We repent for allowing those things to dictate our joy and the direction of our lives. We ask that you would fill us with more of you. Fill us with your glory, Lord. Let us be so full of you that others see the difference in us. Give us the desire of our heart, to know you and to be known by you. We love you, Lord. In Jesus Name, Amen!
Thank you for a prayer that I needed today. I've been filling my plate with too many "bossy things" (I like that) because I feel like that's what I'm supposed to do as a mama with children in school...but it's not. Thank you for this reminder to lean in to God - and let Him fill us with the right things...and to exclude approval-seeking behavior!
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