If/Then: Are Our Desires God's Desires?

"Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart." (Psalm 37:4)

All of us have experienced having desires in this life, and most of us are still waiting on at least one of those desires or dreams to come to life.  Some of us have even had glimpses or visions from God confirming certain desires.  Others have thought for sure that a certain dream was about to come true...only to find that it was lost again in but a moment.

So many thoughts and questions come to mind, when thinking about our hearts desires.  But here are what I believe are the two most prominent:

1. How can we know that our desires are God's desire as well?
2. How can we trust that God will give us what we desire?

Let's approach each of these questions one by one starting with the first.

How can we know that our desire are God's desire as well?

It can be a challenge to believe God for something, when years and years have gone by and still...that desire or dream is just that...a dream.  But if we look at the scripture above as an if/than statement than we know for sure one thing.

IF we are taking delight in the Lord, then He is giving us the desires of our heart.

So what does it mean to delight in the Lord exactly and what does it mean for Him to give us a desire?

I love looking up the definition of words.  It always presents a new and unique and most of the time solid explanation. 

To delight in something, or in this case in God, by definition means to receive great pleasure from, be charmed by, or find joy in.  But he foundational word for delight, in our literal history actually means to be charmed, and charmed in it's foundation term means to be influenced, therefore if we are daily influenced by the Lord, THEN the Lord will give or freely transfer to us our desires.  

So re-writing we could say the above scripture as such:

IF we are acting under the influence of the Lord THEN He will freely transfer from His heart to ours, our desires.

So now more fully understanding the above scripture, we can trust that if we are living under God's influence and power than the desires that are planted in our heart ARE planted there by God.  

The second question is a bit harder to answer because it's foundation is harder to obtain.  TRUST!

How can we trust that God will give us what we desire?

Well lets start by asking ourselves, what does it mean to trust?

Defined trust means to have a firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something, in this case being our God.  So if we take each of these words and find scripture to back them up...I believe we can't do anything but trust our God.  SO here goes:

RELIABILITY:

"Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done wonderful things, things planned long ago." Isaiah 25:1

Time and time again in the bible we see acts of God's faithfulness and reliability.  

“And the LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as he had spoken.” (Genesis 21:1) 

God told Abraham that He would have decedents as many as the stars and we well know...HE DID!

Our God is faithful and therefore reliable.

TRUTH:

Is God truly there? (This is a very loaded question, which I will answer simply and if you are interested in knowing more please do not hesitate to contact me and ask.)  We know that the bible is truth and the stories of history that are written in it have been historically proven and backed up, SO if we know that the bible is truth and that our God is real, then we can believe this scripture that says:

"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness." (2Timothy 3:16)

ABILITY:

"Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us."(Ephesians 3:20)

I love this scripture!  God is able to do immeasurably more than we ask or imagine, if that doesn't speak to God's ability I don't know what does!

STRENGTH:

Is our God strong?

“Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you." (Jeremiah 32:17)

We serve a strong and able God.  A God who formed the universe and all that is with in it.  Our God is STRONG!

So after reading the above scriptures, I hope that you can stand with me and believe that we serve an all powerful God that we can rightly put our hope and trust in.   But if you are still struggling, it may help to take each of these words and define times in your life where God has specifically shown each of these characteristics to you personally.  For what we read and what we experience are two very different things and if we can remember times in our own lives that God has shown His faithfulness, our ability to trust Him is strengthened.  

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.(Jeremiah 29:11)

But remember, 

"In his heart a man plans His course, but the Lord determines His steps." (Proverbs 16:9)

So many times God shows us a dream, or a desire for our life and for the sake of this analogy I would like you to imagine that your dream or desire is like a living deer. Rarely are we allowed to run full speed ahead and grab at a deer with out a struggle or a chase.  Timing and approach are everything. So is that in life. We must always wait on God's timing. Why?

Because God knows that even if we run at our dream, grab it and manage to catch it, when it is not ready...just as a deer would, we will find the dream struggling, and bucking against us! It is only when we wait in peace and stillness for God to allow the deer or dream to come towards us, that we can willingly and in God's good grace embrace it fully, without resistance or struggle.

So my brothers and sisters, trust, believe and wait on the Lord.  Knowing that if you are walking in His influence then the desires that He is giving you, are His own and you can TRUST that He will see them through in His right and perfect time!

But As For Me And My House: We Will Serve The LORD!

"For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything." (Hebrews 3:4)

What are you building your house with? 

What is your house's foundation? Where is your safety? God reminded me this morning of a moment I had as a nanny, where a little girl asked me about heaven. She wanted to know what it would look like, who would be there and what we would do. As I began to tell her of all of what I thought were heavens glorious wonders, I looked over and noticed she was crying. As I asked her why she was crying she proceeded to asked two questions.

1) "Will we sleep in heaven?" 

I replied that I imagined that we wouldn't need to rest in heaven because we would never be tired.

She cried harder..."but I love sleep so much!" she wailed out.  Next question...

2) "Will I have my toys?"

I explained how the things of this world will fade away and that we take nothing with us but our souls.

At this point she was wailing..."but I'll be soooooo bored!" she is heaving.

At this point I am sure most of you are chuckling a little bit and honestly I was trying very hard not to laugh a bit myself.  But what you have to realize is a bit of subtext.

What seems so silly for some of us, was very serious to this little girl. We have to remember not all of us have Godly examples in our lives.

We are all caught in a web of satan's design from birth and it is up to the rest of us to appropriately step in when and where we can. 

But parents have the main responsibility.

This little girl had parents who did not know and fear the Lord, worked full days and often asked me, the nanny, to go to special events instead of them. 

The two times this little girl was actually with her parents were...

1) When they would buy, do, and go whatever and wherever she pleased and

2) Bedtime.

So, to this little girl bedtime was very special; the things her parents bought her were very special. It is no wonder that her toys and sleep were where she held her value; they were the only ways and times in her life that she felt love from the two most important people in her life.

Now in case you are wondering, the little girl did eventually calm down. I prayed with her and told her she could talk to God about if she wanted too; that He would listen and hear her. And after about an hour of listening to her crying and talking to God in her room she came out. But honestly that is not the point of this story. The point is...

What are we building our houses with?  What are we teaching our children to put value in?  How are you showing them love?

God calls us as parents and caregivers to guide our children in a Godly way.  

If we are treating our children like accessories or worse yet burdens what are we teaching them about God's view of us? 

If we buy them whatever they want and let them do whatever they want; what are we teaching them about God's law? 

If we ignore, hurt, and belittle them; what are we teaching them about God's grace and love? 

But I am not just talking to parents here,  What if we asked the above question in  a different way:

If we are treating our NEIGHBORS, FRIENDS, CO-WORKERS like accessories or worse yet burdens what are we teaching them about God's view of THEM? 

If we LET OUR NEIGHBORS, FRIENDS, CO-WORKERS do whatever they want both TO US and TO OTHERS; what are we teaching them about God's law? 

If we ignore, hurt, and belittle our NEIGHBORS, FRIENDS, CO-WORKERS ; what are we teaching them about God's grace and love? 

We have a responsibility to be like Jesus to our children AND all the people God places in and around our lives. 

Children of God we are held to a different standard. Don't let the ways of this technology and money driven world get in the way of what is really important. Your children look too YOU; the world looks to YOU. What kind of example are we setting? What are we building our houses with? Where are we getting our worth? How are we spending our time? What are we storing up?   Our children will inevitably follow and so will the rest of the world.  So remember...

For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? (Mathew 16:26)

It all will fade away...all that will be left is our soul? 

So I ask you...is your house build on the Lord?  What can you be doing more and more of everyday to ensure it is?  

We are not called to be perfect, but we are called to follow God's law and strive to be like Jesus the best we can every day! 

So let us: LOVE, SACRIFICE, SHEPHERD, SPREAD THE GOOD NEWS, STAND ON THE WORD OF GOD, SAVE,  PROTECT, SERVE, TEACH, SHOW PATIENCE, SHOW GRACE, PRAY, SEEK GOD's WILL, WALK IN PEACE, WALK IN THE SPIRIT, WALK IN TRUTH, and GIVE through the grace and help of God everyday!

Amen!