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The Lord Loves to Delight His Children
Andrea Lende • October 9, 2021
Psalm 37:4-5
The Lord Loves to Delight His Children
You can also listen to the devotion and prayer at: https://anchor.fm/andrea-lende/episodes/The-Lord-Loves-to-Delight-His-Children-e18i8mh
Psalm 37:4-5
“Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He will give you the desires and secret petitions of your heart.”
“Commit your way to the Lord [roll and repose each care of your load on Him]; trust (lean on, rely on, and be confident) also in Him and He will bring it to pass.”
I love when I open up my Bible and the next passage I read, fills my spirit with joy.
This was one of those days.
When I spend time with the Lord, He fills my spirit with all good things.
When I become too caught up in the world and its troubles, my spirit sinks and is filled with despair.
So, I lean into Him.
I used to trust in the world for direction, meaning, and my worth.
But I was left empty and exhausted.
Then the Lord redirected me back to Him.
It was uncomfortable and painful.
However, I am so thankful He didn’t let me sink deeper into the muck and mire.
As He wrangled my spirit back to His, He transformed my spirit, heart, and desires.
Now I find delight, joy, and hope in Him.
Our passage says He will give us the desires of our hearts.
I have found when I am aligned with Him, His desires become my desires.
Then He gives me the secret petitions of my heart.
Most often we don’t even know what our hearts really desire.
And this is where the miraculous shows up.
As we give our hearts to the Lord, He gives us things we don’t even know we desire.
And as we become more tuned into His plan, we find He has, in fact, given us our deepest longings.
Finally, our passage says as we commit ourselves to Him and trust in Him, He will make all these things come to pass.
I didn’t know I would one day write these devotions, but it has become a passion.
In doing so, He continues to teach me more about Him which blesses me tremendously.
You see, He made me to be an information gatherer.
The more I know, the more I am satisfied.
So, He truly satisfies my innermost longings by showing me more of Him.
Today I praise the Lord for not giving up on me but instead granting me my innermost longings of my heart.
May you find the Lord is granting you your innermost desires as you draw closer and closer to Him.
Daily Prayer:
O Lord, my God, thank You for granting me the true desires of my heart. Thank You for not giving up on me. Thank You for continuing to wrangle my spirit and draw me closer to You. You lifted me up out of the muck and mire and brought me back to You. And then You loved me, taught me, and gave me more and more until my one true desire could be realized. You gave me answers. Answers to all the questions I have. You made me with a curious spirit and mind and have not withheld Yourself and Your ways from me. Continue to teach me, Lord. Continue to fill me with Your Spirit. Smooth all the rough edges and make me completely Yours. Help me bless someone this day. Thank You for hearing my prayer.
Answer: I AM the Great I AM, and I take pleasure in teaching you about Me My child.
Response: Thank You for granting me more of You, most gracious and merciful God.
We start a New Year! How exciting! Paul had just finished telling the Ephesians to put off their old nature. They had been run around by their feelings and desires. He told them to be renewed in their spirit. The Amplified Bible defines this to be “having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude.” As we say goodbye to this year, let us put on the new and leave the old behind. We have an opportunity to reflect on what to bring forward into this New Year.
This is a great message for the New Year. We can be in control of our own words. As a mother, I used to tell my children to use their words to explain what was happening in their minds. I tried to help them find the right words. Words that would help the situation and not make it worse. I must do the same thing when talking to them. It’s important to use words that do not damage their spirits. Words that lift up instead of tear down. Even though my children have grown, I still want to be careful how I speak to them because my worlds will impact them for the rest of their lives.
As we approach the New Year, it is a perfect time to take inventory of what part of our lives, our hearts, and our souls are not bearing fruit. What can we give up as this year comes to a close? What do we need to give to the Lord for His cleansing and pruning? The answers to these questions take time. Time with the Lord. We are creatures of routines and habits which serve us well. But we can also change our routines and habits to serve us and the Lord better. So, we can ask God to show us what He wants us to give up so that He can have more of us.
I cannot think of a better verse to meditate on as we approach the New Year. Jesus said, "the kingdom of God is within you [in your hearts] and among you [surrounding you]." For so many years I believed I had to wait to go to heaven to experience the kingdom of God. I have longed to step into heaven and meet the Lord and His Son. However, as we read the Gospels and study Jesus and all that He said, we begin to understand the kingdom of God is all around us. The kingdom of God is within.
Paul wrote to the Colossians and told them he was praying for them. He prayed they would be refreshed, renewed, and invigorated. He also prayed they would be strengthened. May his prayer be heard by the Lord God Almighty on our behalf today just as it was received two thousand years ago. God is the Source of all things beautiful and wonderful. There is no shortage of renewal, refreshment, or inspiration in His kingdom. And as the Creator of this universe, He continues to pour all good things into His people. Paul wrote that refreshment and strength are needed so we may have endurance.
This verse is the perfect verse to reflect on as Christmas comes to a close. The Lord sent His Son to us. He sent Him to this world as a babe. Jesus was given the task of growing up. A difficult one for all of us. He endured the awkward stages we all go through as we grow past them. I look back at old picture and cringe, yes, I cringe. This life provides plenty of opportunities to feel awkward and just plain weird, but our Father loves us as though we are perfect every day of our lives. This is why Jesus came. He came to make us perfect in God’s sight.
God made Himself flesh so He could take away the sins of the world. The story of the very first Christmas was humble, yet the most powerful and loving birth ever recorded in history. All humanity changed in an instant. When Jesus was born, love filled the earth. Love came down and lifted us up. The angels came to tell the shepherds of this beautiful birth. The stars in the heavens also told the story. As we do all tasks that we do to ensure a beautiful Christmas day, may we remember the miracle that God sent long ago. The miracle of all miracles.
The first Christmas was going to be documented, so that it could be read many times over for all Christmas’ to come. It was also documented so the prophecy of the Messiah’s birth would be known to be fulfilled. Prophets of old foretold Jesus would come from the house of David. They also prophesied that He would be born in Bethlehem. And all this came to pass. Even though Jesus would be known as a Nazarene, His beginning began in Bethlehem. God’s divine plan was set in motion with the first census while Mary was at the end of her pregnancy.
What a wonderful passage to read during Christmas week. Our passage touched my heart as I read it through the lens of Jesus’ birth. “It was God [personally present] in Christ, reconciling and restoring the world to favor with Himself.” We have so much to be thankful for in these few short words, “restoring the world to favor with Himself.” So undeserved and yet so graciously given. We are offered favor with the Lord. Imagine having favor with the almighty God, the Creator of the universe. Jesus chose to leave heaven’s door where all was perfect. He chose to be born into this dusty messy world.
Jesus had just spoken to a fig tree and deemed it unworthy to live because it had no fruit on it. His disciples were amazed when they saw the fig tree wither and die. Then the Lord talked to them about prayer and belief. He told them that whatever they asked for, if they had the faith and belief, they would receive it. I remember the day I started hearing music and lyrics. I had just bowed my head at the piano and asked if the Lord would bless praise and worship music. As soon as I prayed that prayer, the Lord bestowed the gift of song writing upon me.