Psalm 37:4 "Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart."
"Awesome! God will give me that new phone if I delight in Him! I desire that cute boy, so will God make him ask me to be his girlfriend? Will all of my plans work out? It says God will give me the desires of my heart...why am I not getting what I want?" What I just wrote is completely false. God isn't a magic genie to whom we can make wishes to. God is the CREATOR of the whole UNIVERSE and he deserves more respect than what we give him. This verse isn't saying that if we're Christians, God will give us what we want. This verse is stating that if we take pleasure and yearn to learn more about His word and His promises, that He will purify our desires and give us the desire to want what He wants. When we truly delight ourselves in the Lord, he will make his desires our desires. We have to make sure our hearts are pure and that we focus on Him in every aspect. We have to let our thoughts, actions, words, and plans for ourselves be honoring to God and he will then give us the desires to want the things he has planned. I'm sure there's been a point in your life where you've said, "God? Hello? I'm down here praying to you every night! Where are you? Are you even listening?" but that is basically underrating God and what he's capable of. God wants to answer our prayers in his perfect timing. When God gives us the desire to be in his will and to rest in him, he will come through! He is faithful all the time and even when we don't understand our circumstances or what He's doing, we have to be able to trust God. Proverbs 3:5 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding." Philippians 4:19 "And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus."
0 Comments
In the news today, you never hear anything good. You only hear about the shootings, the political arguments, the injustice, and the sufferings of this world. You definitely don't hear the word "joy."
The good news is that because of our Savior, we can have joy! Now before I get into this, let me get this straight. Joy and happiness are not the same thing; they are not interchangeable. Happiness is defined as "a pleasurable or satisfying experience." Happiness is just a feeling, so it goes away. Joy is eternal! You can only find joy through Jesus Christ. Our joy isn't affected by our circumstances, unlike happiness, and that is great news for us! So when you lose your job, choose joy. When you're sick, choose joy. When you lose a loved one, choose joy. When you're feeling down, choose joy. College is just around the corner... literally. I'm going to college 15 minutes away from my house in a town where I've lived for 10 years, but I'm still feeling nervous and overwhelmed. I've heard that, on average, a typical college student does homework for 30 hours a week. Are those people trying to freak me out?
This isn't a blog by another freshman telling you what to pack, what to expect, or what classes to take- because frankly, I don't know the answers to any of those questions. I'm the last kid at home and the last kid to go to college, so my parents have experience, but no one can fix the anxiety, the stress, the homesickness, or even the arguments you're bound to have with your roommate. The only way you'll get through it with only a few cuts and bruises is with Jesus by your side. God never told us that we'd love our roommate, or that the dining hall would have good food. He never promised that we wouldn't fail a class or that we would love every moment. God didn't promise us that we wouldn't get homesick either (even when you are 15 minutes away), but he did promise us one thing; he will never leave us on our own. Sometimes God will give us friends to help us through it, and he doesn't- that means you get time to read his word and grow closer in your relationship with him. He's with us at the football games, in class, and in our dorms. He's there when we're eating alone in the dining hall and when we feel alone with people surrounding us. No matter how you feel or where you are, he's there. So being alone at college shouldn't be one of our fears. When you're overwhelmed, he can take your burden and give you peace. When you're sad, he will trade your sorrow for joy. When you're angry, he can forgive you and give you the grace to forgive others. I don't know what you need to pack, I'm still figuring that out. I don't know where your biology class is or where you can find a twin XL duvet insert. The only thing I'm sure of is that when we have Jesus in our hearts, he will never leave us on our own. To the girl who can't seem to lose weight- it's okay. It's okay to not be a size 4, but it's not okay for you to compare yourself to someone who is. It's okay to eat an entire pint of ice cream in one sitting, but it's not okay to only eat ice cream. It's okay for you to sometimes watch Netflix instead of working out, but it's not okay to avoid exercise altogether.
To the student who can't get an A in math class- it's okay. The angles of pentagons don't matter that much. It's okay for you to get a bad grade sometimes, but it's not okay for you not to try. It's okay to get frustrated when you don't understand, but it's not okay to quit. To the mother who can't control your children- it's okay. It's okay for you to feed them McDonald's when you're too stressed to cook. It's okay that your children are screaming in Target; they're actually kind of funny, but it's not okay for you to get discouraged. You're doing just fine. It's okay to feel overwhelmed, stressed, helpless, or hopeless, but it's not okay for you to bottle up those feelings. God can take away your stress to fill you with his peace. When you're discouraged- turn on some praise music and let God fill you with his presence. Just don't quit. |