The Desires of Your Heart

Have you gotten everything you desired? I have not. And I’m so thankful I haven’t. I’ve been walking with Jesus a long time but there have been things I wanted that did not line up with The Word. Some of those times, I’ve sought them myself to a detrimental end. Thank God for His faithfulness (Deut 7:9) and His love (1 John 4:8) – He has kept me even when I stepped out of line or made some unhealthy decisions. The scripture is true that once we are saved by grace through faith (Eph 2:8-10) – nothing can separate us from the love of God (Rom 8:31-39). 

When we consider the desires of our heart, we must think about it a little differently and in context with the rest of the verse….and God’s character. Psalm 37:4 says to delight in the Lord; and He will give us the desires of our heart. If you remember back in January, I wrote a blog about God not being a Genie ….. meaning He will not just do because we ask Him when something is not in His will. 

To be clear, God wants us to be fulfilled and to have joy regardless of the circumstances, but not out of alignment with Him because there is no real joy or peace outside of Him. If what we are asking for doesn’t align with who He is and His will for us, He will not do it. The verse in Psa 37 brought home that if I truly delight in the Lord, He will change my desires and my heart to align with His word and His way. He is the only one who can change the heart, which is desperately wicked (Jer 17:9). 

So the more I delight in Him, the more my ways and desires will line up with His. I will want to please Him instead of myself. I will make Him Lord and not want to be lord over my own life. I will recognize my need for Him and be open to move when He says even if it’s not necessarily what I think I want, because I trust Him. When we delight in the Lord, His desires become ours and even though we may be tempted, He is there to provide a way out (1 Cor 10:13). He will never leave nor forsake us (Deut 31:8). 

Look at the patriarchs and matriarchs, they were flawed men and women God used to bring about His plan for salvation and show us how His love never fails (Psa 136). Despite all the mistakes they made, God kept His promises to them and their descendants. It’s cliché but who wouldn’t want to serve a God like that? So, do you want your desires or God’s desires for you? As for me, I will delight in the Lord because I want Him to change my desires to align with His. I hope you’re with me.

Who do you represent?

As we walk through life, we are regularly asked the question, “who are you?” There are many ways we can answer that question. We are a compilation of so many factors. I am a daughter, an engineer, a female, a supervisor, an employee, a homeowner, a reader, etc. Above all of them, lies my relationship with God. I am His child. I became God’s child when I accepted Jesus and became one of His followers. 

When we become followers of Christ, we become Ambassadors of the Kingdom of Heaven, our home, to the world (2 Cor 5:11-21). What is an ambassador? An ambassador is a person of high rank employed by a government to represent it and transact its business at the seat of government of some other power. So, we are citizens of Heaven (Phil 3:20-21) and as such, we are assigned to represent God here on earth and transact His business. 

Pastor Craig said it best today, we are ambassadors “of Christ sent by God to show love on earth as it is in heaven.” God chose us before we were born (Jer 1:5). He works in us both to will and to do His good pleasure (Phil 2:13). Whatever assignment you’ve been given (and we all have an assignment), that assignment is given to fulfill God’s will. 

I’ve said before and it bares writing here that we all have gifts and talents afforded us by God that He will use for His glory. Our job is to move as the Holy Spirit leads and to go into all the world and announce the Good News of Christ (Mark 16:15). We are to love God with everything and love our neighbor as ourselves (Mark 12:30-31). Being an ambassador is not necessarily about the big gestures or proclamations.  It is about how we maneuver through our everyday lives. Listening to someone’s story, providing a meal to someone in need, clothing someone without, etc., are all some ways we show God’s love to those in the world around us. 

As ambassadors, we represent the Most High God. That means we are always “on” to do His bidding. We have to study His directions and stay in close communication with Him to know how and where we are to move. The better we know Him and His voice, the better we can follow and do His will. 

So, take a quick look at your life and be honest with yourself. Who do you represent? Choose today, who you will serve (Josh 24:14-15), because tomorrow is not promised (Prov 27:1).

You Are Enough!

Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms, god moms, step/bonus moms, aunties, foster moms, friends, etc.! Never question that you have a significant impact on those around you – make sure it’s a great one. 

My mom has played such an important role in my life – she’s been a supporter, she’s inspired me, she’s set standards for me, she’s enforced the rules, she’s been my friend. She introduced me to Jesus at a very early age – not just with her words, but her actions. I hope you have been blessed with a mother who has been all those things to you as well. She’s the one who always told me I could do anything through Christ – she told me I was enough. 

Do you feel like you’re enough? I know sometimes I forget who I am and I allow what others say to me or what I say to myself to distract and depress me in the moment. But, the fact of the matter is that if you’re in Christ, you are enough. You’re good enough. You’re smart enough. You’re pretty enough. You ARE enough. 

According to scripture, we are God’s masterpiece in Christ Jesus to do good works that God already planned for us long ago (Eph 2:10). Can you imagine that God in creating you, made you for a specific purpose in Christ Jesus? So when we were saved by the power of Jesus' blood, we are saved to do the good works God created us for. We are not saved by any good works, but we are saved for good works (Eph 2:8-9) – to live out loving God first and loving our neighbor as ourselves. 

In a message this morning, Pastor Craig said something that resonated with me. We are not put in a place only for a purpose but to bring purpose into the place. God’s will is that we would go into all the world and share the good news of Jesus (Mar 16:15-16). Everywhere we go we are to take Him with us and show Him to others. You are enough to go into any arena and bring Jesus with you. 

Never allow fear to keep you from stepping into a place God is sending you. He will never send you to a place He has not prepared you to go. Yes, you need to have Him with you. We are not able to go in by ourselves and be successful, but we are to step in. You are enough in Him to go wherever He is calling you. Don’t let anyone take that away from you. 

You are Valuable

How often do you get caught feeling bad because you weren’t able to do something well or you made a mistake and had to work extra hard to make it right…..or others had to help you make it right? When was the last time you got some feedback from your supervisor and it made you feel as if weren’t doing your job? When was the last time you didn’t feel supported? How did you feel the last time someone implied you had a lot to learn and it made you question your value? 

I was recently reminded we are not what we do. God has given us a purpose and gifts to apply wherever He takes us, but what we do is not the complete story of who we are or where our value comes from. Our value rests with our creator. How much are we worth to Him? We were worth the life of His only Son.  

Can you imagine? Creating a being and that being turns on you as soon as it perceives a better deal from a trickster (Gen 3). The being is caught in a trap that can only end in its eternal death and condemnation, but the Creator finds the being so valuable that He sends His only begotten Son to die so that the being might live (John 3:16). I’ve said before, “The value of something is how much someone is willing to pay for it.” So, if that is the case, our value lies in how much God paid for us, not in anything we bring to the table. 

So when someone makes you feel little because of mistakes you make or because little to complain and degrade, remember that the Lord determines your value and that everything else is temporary. Maybe it’s a test or a lesson. Either way, God is already working on your behalf. You are never alone. God is a refuge and a strong tower to protect against your enemies. He’s got it and nothing takes Him by surprise. 

He gave His Son for you. You are valuable, no matter what anyone says or does or whether you feel like it or not. Your value is not found in the things you do. You are more than that.