Delight thyself also in the Lord
and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
Commit thy way unto the Lord;
trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.
Psalm 37:4-5
and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
Commit thy way unto the Lord;
trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.
Psalm 37:4-5
I remember when I first read and memorized these verses. A commentary I read at the time said that "He shall give thee the desires of thine heart" was not to say that God would give you anything and everything you ever wanted, but rather that He would give you the desires to have, He would place within you His desires for you. At the time I appreciated the thought, but didn't really see it in my life.
This morning I was working on my study of Experiencing the Spirit, and I read:
"God has also called you. He has sent you. And He has given you the Holy Spirit because He has a purpose for your life. Remember again: it's the Lord's purpose, not yours. The Holy Spirit was sent to help you achieve God's purposes, not your dreams. and if you aren't willing to do His purposes, the Holy Spirit cannot work in you or through you."
Henry and Melvin Blackaby, Experiencing the Spirit.At first I was rather put off by this concept. "The Holy Spirit was sent to help you achieve God's purposes, not your dreams." This was what brought the above verses to my mind, "He shall give thee the desires of thine heart." There seemed to be a disconnect somewhere.
As I thought back on my life and where I have been, I realize that at the time I first read these verses from the Psalms, I had no more desire to write or teach than I had to fly. You know, I really don't know whether I had any dreams back then or not. I do remember that for a while I felt like a rudderless ship, with no idea of where I even wanted to go.
As I walked with God since that time, through many changes and even 'upheavals,' God seems to have awakened within me desires or dreams I had never considered. In fact, I remember the exact moment that the dream to teach God's Word came to me. I was sitting in the middle of my bed, surrounded by my Bible, notebook, and other resources (commentaries, Strong's Concordance, etc.). I had just made a startling discovery as I was reading through of all books, Leviticus. I saw how precisely God had planned and foretold the suffering and death of the Messiah, and that Jesus hung on the cross to a specific moment in time in order to fulfill the prophetic picture that God had drawn in the directions for celebrating the Passover. At that moment all I wanted to do was gather some folks together and take them through the wonder and majesty of God's plan and purpose, and share with them the amazing love of Christ that I saw in His willingness to endure such pain and suffering until the precise time God had prescribed for the killing of the Passover lambs.
After God awakened that desire/dream within me, He brought people into my life to confirm that this was His will for me. He drew even closer to me, encouraging me and giving me such joy in His Word. Not long after that, He opened the door for me to begin walking in the dream! In an amazing series of circumstances, God opened doors I would never have dreamed possible. (Now before you get some false notions built up in your mind, I want to say that for many, the doors God opened for me were no big deal. I don't want to give you any inflated ideas. But for me, the opportunities God gave me were beyond what I thought He could ever want for me. Anyway . . . ) The interesting thing is that there were times of struggle and opposition, but God was so gentle and lovingly kind. I have only praises for what He has done in my life.
Later, there came a time when life led me into a wilderness. (I say 'life led me' because I don't know whether it was God's will, my failure, or the insecurity of another. Doesn't matter in the least to me because God works everything out for good.) There were no opportunities, not even fellowship with the body. I went through a time of feeling so alone and rejected. As God led me back out of that time and began to reawaken my heart, He also began to tweak the dream that I had watched die. I don't remember exactly what it was, but one morning God so touched my heart with His Word that I HAD to share it. When I got into work that morning, I sent the passage of Scripture with a short comment and/or praise to my friends. That was the point A Thought for Today! was born together with my dream of writing to encourage and exhort the body of Christ.
I guess that what I am beginning to see is that as we walk with God, His purposes and our dreams become one and the same thing. If we delight in Him, as we are seeking Him (to KNOW Him), He will place within us the very dreams that He will use to fulfill His purposes for us and through us. Now as I look at those verses from Psalms, I am able to appreciate them with a heart that has experienced the truth they profess. God has both given me the desires of my heart, and I believe I see Him bringing them to pass.
When you think about it, how amazing is it that the God of all creation cares about our dreams and our hearts. Of all the religions in the world, all the concepts about 'a higher power' that are out there, could anyone have possibly imagined a God like ours? I am so thankful to know Him. I am so grateful that He ever considered to reveal Himself to us in One such as Jesus Christ. I love Him so much, not only for what He does in and through my life, but for WHO HE IS!! Praise His glorious Name!
Love,
Ev
As I thought back on my life and where I have been, I realize that at the time I first read these verses from the Psalms, I had no more desire to write or teach than I had to fly. You know, I really don't know whether I had any dreams back then or not. I do remember that for a while I felt like a rudderless ship, with no idea of where I even wanted to go.
As I walked with God since that time, through many changes and even 'upheavals,' God seems to have awakened within me desires or dreams I had never considered. In fact, I remember the exact moment that the dream to teach God's Word came to me. I was sitting in the middle of my bed, surrounded by my Bible, notebook, and other resources (commentaries, Strong's Concordance, etc.). I had just made a startling discovery as I was reading through of all books, Leviticus. I saw how precisely God had planned and foretold the suffering and death of the Messiah, and that Jesus hung on the cross to a specific moment in time in order to fulfill the prophetic picture that God had drawn in the directions for celebrating the Passover. At that moment all I wanted to do was gather some folks together and take them through the wonder and majesty of God's plan and purpose, and share with them the amazing love of Christ that I saw in His willingness to endure such pain and suffering until the precise time God had prescribed for the killing of the Passover lambs.
After God awakened that desire/dream within me, He brought people into my life to confirm that this was His will for me. He drew even closer to me, encouraging me and giving me such joy in His Word. Not long after that, He opened the door for me to begin walking in the dream! In an amazing series of circumstances, God opened doors I would never have dreamed possible. (Now before you get some false notions built up in your mind, I want to say that for many, the doors God opened for me were no big deal. I don't want to give you any inflated ideas. But for me, the opportunities God gave me were beyond what I thought He could ever want for me. Anyway . . . ) The interesting thing is that there were times of struggle and opposition, but God was so gentle and lovingly kind. I have only praises for what He has done in my life.
Later, there came a time when life led me into a wilderness. (I say 'life led me' because I don't know whether it was God's will, my failure, or the insecurity of another. Doesn't matter in the least to me because God works everything out for good.) There were no opportunities, not even fellowship with the body. I went through a time of feeling so alone and rejected. As God led me back out of that time and began to reawaken my heart, He also began to tweak the dream that I had watched die. I don't remember exactly what it was, but one morning God so touched my heart with His Word that I HAD to share it. When I got into work that morning, I sent the passage of Scripture with a short comment and/or praise to my friends. That was the point A Thought for Today! was born together with my dream of writing to encourage and exhort the body of Christ.
I guess that what I am beginning to see is that as we walk with God, His purposes and our dreams become one and the same thing. If we delight in Him, as we are seeking Him (to KNOW Him), He will place within us the very dreams that He will use to fulfill His purposes for us and through us. Now as I look at those verses from Psalms, I am able to appreciate them with a heart that has experienced the truth they profess. God has both given me the desires of my heart, and I believe I see Him bringing them to pass.
When you think about it, how amazing is it that the God of all creation cares about our dreams and our hearts. Of all the religions in the world, all the concepts about 'a higher power' that are out there, could anyone have possibly imagined a God like ours? I am so thankful to know Him. I am so grateful that He ever considered to reveal Himself to us in One such as Jesus Christ. I love Him so much, not only for what He does in and through my life, but for WHO HE IS!! Praise His glorious Name!
Love,
Ev
One thing have I desired and that will I seek, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life to behold the beauty of the Lord and to enquire in His tablernacle. Psalm 27:4
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