Let the Creator of This Universe Create the Desires of Your Heart.
“Delight yourself in the LORD,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalms 34:7
I can’t tell you how many times I have read this verse and had these thoughts in my mind, “If I can just do better at serving God, THEN I’ll get what I desire.” “If I can just be good enough, THEN I’ll magically start seeing every earthy desire I’ve ever dreamed of come to pass.”
I think so many times, especially here in America, we have the perception that Christianity is flowers and rainbows constantly. Being a christian is easy, right? No way!
We must be intentional in serving Yahweh! There is no amount of spiritual maturity that is going to make your life easier here on earth, but there is an amount of spiritual maturity that will make your life worth the hardship here on earth!
Let’s read the verse again,
“Delight yourself in the LORD,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalms 34:7
The word “delight” found in the verse is translated to the Hebrew word,
“ânag, aw-nag’; a primitive root; to be soft or pliable.”
We must be soft and pliable towards the things of God! The more we make this a reality in our lives, the more real He will become to us. And He will CREATE NEW DESIRES within us! Our earthly desires no longer hold a grip on us because the reality of God’s word becomes more real to us as we become soft and pliable to Him!
Lately at my church we have been discussing the story of the Woman at the Well in John. The story really makes you wonder what the woman was thinking while she was interacting with Jesus. If I had to guess it would probably be something along the lines of…
“If they really knew me….”
This truth has really made me think myself. I think as Christian women we often disregard the woman at the well…I mean no one answers the question “with which Biblical woman do you identify? with ‘the women at the well.’ Esther. Sure. Martha, of course. The woman described in Proverbs 31. Absolutely. Despite our dismissing her as a role model, the woman at the well was intentionally sought out by Jesus.
She was, in fact, His first choice. The person to which He revealed the truth of who He was and what He came to accomplish. This fact does not make sense to us as a society who has chose to believe the lie that we must come to Him completely clean and perfect. We simply must choose Him.
Jesus chose an outcast within an outcast society.
Jesus chose a woman completely broken by the world.
The woman at the well was shunned by her village. Judged by others. She endured her life with the despair and hopelessness that is so common today. The fullness of her emptiness was inescapable. Each day carrying it, alone and isolated, to the well with the sun beating her down, further reminding her of her worthlessness. For a moment, drawing from the well, her thirst was quenched, her skin cooled. Respite enough to pick up and carry the weight of her shame back home.
But then….
She encountered Jesus.
Waiting. Patiently. A divine appointment. An unexpected and shocking encounter.
When He spoke to her, her confusion was palpable. A man. A Jew. Speaking to me? “If He only knew…” But, in her isolation, the comfort of a human being interacting with her…not sneering, pointing, or accusing had to be a welcome relief. As I’ve read—and re-read—this passage over the last few weeks, what stands out is her fear. The thought “If He only knew me…..”
But He DID know. Jesus knew everything about her. He confessed the truth of all she had ever done out-loud. The love in that moment—in His choice to confess her sin—such a beautiful foreshadowing of all He would carry for us. I imagine Jesus saying: “I KNOW you. I know you don’t even have the strength to confess all that you have done, but I love you enough to free you from your brokenness and the shackles of your shame. I will confess on your behalf.”
The goodness of God. The sufficiency of His grace. The power of His love found in a brief encounter:
I KNOW you; yet, I CHOOSE YOU.
In that encounter, everything changed for the woman at the well. You can imagine just how truly seen she felt. The empty, broken woman covered in shame was now filled to overflow with living water. Her thirst forever quenched. The ashes of her brokenness and the shackles of her shame forever exchanged for the beauty and freedom found through Jesus Christ alone.
She forgot and abandoned her worldly toiling. She bounded back to her village proclaiming the truth. She came to the well invisible, condemned, and imprisoned by her sin – that is not how she left though. She left seen, forgiven, and freed.
Her simple, unexpected encounter with Jesus was tangibly visible to everyone in her village. Compelled by her love for Him, her joy and transformation were evident to all. Her testimony: “He knew everything about me” brought many to Him.
Jesus waits at the well for us all.
He knows everything about you, but still, He pursues you. He does not condemn you.
Jesus is enough.
You are loved.
Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”
If you’re a parent you know that if your child asks once, they ask a thousand times, if you’ve heard your name once, you’ve heard it a thousand times, and once they start talking, they usually don’t stop.
Last week the kids and I were on our way to the children’s museum, and I stopped at Starbucks to get a drink. When I pulled in the line Liam began asking for ice cream. “Momma, can I have some ice cream, mommy can you get me some ice cream, I really want ice cream, can you please get me some ice cream mommy?…” and on and on he asked. So much so that I couldn’t focus on thinking about what drink I was going to order because he wouldn’t stop talking.
Frustratingly, I told him “Son, I love you. I know what you like, I know what you need, and I will always take care of you.” “So we can have some ice cream mommy? Can we go somewhere else after this and get some?…” and on and on he went. Again, “SON. I LOVE YOU. I KNOW WHAT YOU WANT, I KNOW WHAT YOU NEED, I KNOW WHAT’S GOOD FOR YOU AND WHAT’S HARMFUL, AND I WILL TAKE CARE OF YOU.” I repeated louder than the first. I already knew when I planned to stop at Starbucks that it would be a sweet treat for Liam to have a little bit of the vanilla bean Frappuccino (yesss, it’s non-caffeinated). I had already decided I was going to purchase one and let him have a small bit of it. Why? Because, I love him, I know what he likes, I know what makes him happy and I wanted to share a treat with my son.
In that moment, the Lord spoke to me, Brittnee, I also often have already made my decision to care for you. I also love you. I know what you like, I know what you need, and I will always take care of you. Unlike the way you responded to Liam, I desire your prayer without ceasing, to ask persistently, to share your desires, fears, worries, triumphs and tragedies, and to intercede for others no matter what. I never get tired of hearing them and I won’t respond frustratingly to you.
Wow. What a throat punch.
In Luke 18 Jesus tells the parable of the persistent widow. The widow went persistently to the unrighteous judge asking him to give her justice against her adversary, day in and day out she went. The bible says “for a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming. And the Lord said, ‘Hear what the unrighteous judge says. And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily.”
Colossians 4:2 “Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.”
1 Thessalonians 5:16- 18 says “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
Psalm 102:17 “He regards the prayer of the destitute and does not despise their prayer.”
Matthew 18:4 “Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
Mark 10:15 “Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”
Luke 11:9-10 “And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.”
Friends, as with much of my children’s requests, God knows what we need before we need it. He knows our hearts desires, he knows what makes us smile, what excites us, what breaks our hearts, and what terrifies us. He is a good good Father. And yet he still wants us to flood His ears with our voice. What would it be like if our children never stopped talking? Are you guilty of that with the Lord?
Friends, it doesn’t matter that the Lord has already decided he is going to get you a vanilla bean frappe when you’re craving something sweet. Today and every day, pray. Flood your daddy’s ears.
“… For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?”
I Samuel 17:26 NKJV
Hope is a word that has been highlighted to me all month. If I saw it in a verse, which has been often, I would end up circling it. It has become like a God-wink at this point. And for the better part of the month, I was hopeful. But once again, thoughts and feelings taunted me that caused hope to recoil. A voice rises up against what I know to be true, and more specifically, true about God’s character and plan for me. There is a situation in my life that hope is a struggle in; the defeats far exceed the victories that the belief it could be or will be any different is challenging.
I’m sure we all have something like that in our lives. The place where hope has been deferred and our hearts are made sick. Perhaps you’ve even had promises spoken over this unmet desire but time (and maybe even circumstances) has become a thief: of joy, of assurance, of hope — the expectation.
I get it. I really do. And as I was talking with the Lord about the hopelessness I feel regarding my particular situation, I commented on how I didn’t feel like David facing Goliath because I was taunted by this struggle, by these thoughts and feelings. It was intimidating me in fear and I was not confident I was facing it or even could face it in faith. So the Lord prompted me to read the story of David and Goliath (1 Samuel 17). Y’all…it is so good!
What encouraged me most was that David had a confident expectation (hope) that the God who had given him victory in the past would do so again. As he explains to Saul that he had fought lions and bears as a shepherd, he is certain that God would do the same for this giant. It was no match for his God!
“Moreover David said, “The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.”…”
I Samuel 17:37 NKJV
And I had to ask myself:
what have Jesus and I battled and prevailed at that once upon a time victory [in these things] seemed impossible?
This hope deferred is a) not hope denied and b) not something that will defy God, especially if He has spoken into the situation. It may feel like a giant at times but we can confidently expect God to come through; bring it down, cause it to fall face first to the ground, with the Rock our hope is in — Jesus Christ! He will have its head. If He conquered death, then situations or circumstances, disappointments, doubts, needs, troubles, heartbreaks, fears, naysayers — whatever we face, whatever tells us “this is impossible” — is nothing to Him. And I know that in the midst of the struggle, it’s hard to remember; hope is hard to cling to, but we have to remember that God will not be defied and to call to mind those battles He has won. Perhaps we should even speak to the things that seem to come against our hope as David did regarding Goliath:
“who is this uncircumcised philistine?”
Because whatever it is, is not mightier than our God — the living God!
After David defeated Goliath, he kept Goliath’s armor in his tent. It was a trophy so to speak, a reminder of the victory. It was in his stock to continually remind him that nothing was impossible with God! We have things to do the same with from past victories and whatever the situation we are now facing, there’s an armor we will keep when the battle is won. It WILL be won in Jesus’ name!
May your hope, your confident expectation in Jesus, be encouraged. May you remember past victories. And may you remember that the God we serve is not a God that is defied. Nothing is too hard and nothing is a match against our God’s power — no matter how big and intimidating it may seem.
“This HOPE we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil,”
Hebrews 6:19 NKJV
“Let us hold fast the confession of our HOPE without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.”
Hebrews 10:23 NKJV
“Now faith is the substance of things HOPED for, the evidence of things not seen.”
If you saw my bio yesterday, you would have read that my husband and I have the honor to pastor some really cool people. As part of giving God our yes in this season, I make a stop at a local skilled nursing facility every Monday to visit with an elderly member of our congregation who has lived there for just under a year. In the beginning, the visits were easy conversation but dementia has set in rapidly since January, and very rarely does she even know who I am anymore. As an RN who spent a lot of time with the geriatric population this is not difficult for me to navigate. I go wherever she goes. Some days we are young friends in grade school and other days we’ve had a long day working in the bank. My husband is bi-vocational, working a secular job in addition to being a pastor, so he has only been to see her twice since she was admitted. It has become a running joke between us that no matter how much she has seen me and how little she has seen him she always remembers him, even when she forgets me. So much so, that on a day when she could barely form two thoughts let alone remember who I was, she called out to me before I exited the building, “Be sure and tell Josh I said hello!“ It’s really uncanny. This has been the case for months now, but only recently has Holy Spirit revealed a spiritual parallel to me.
While she doesn’t recognize me anymore, she recognizes who I am attached to. When she looks at me, she doesn’t see me anymore. She sees the one I’m in covenant with… And that’s how it supposed to be between us as believers and the world. The one whose mind is broken and confused, should be able to look through the mist of life and recognize their savior when their eyes lock with ours. Just like when my friend with dementia fails to see or recognize me but is still able to recognize that I am married to someone she does remember even though she hasn’t seen him.
If everything else was stripped away from us, would the lost still be able to find HIM while in our presence?
Yesterday, I looked back at my goals from January 1st of this year, and basically at this point I’ve failed.
It’s cool.
I’m cool.
Seriously though, I’ve got time. I’m not giving up on myself and neither is God.
Thank goodness.
The definition of a “work in progress” is an unfinished project that is still being added to or developed.
So my question is are you also a work in progress? Are you reflecting on your goals, your “self”, where you are and where you should be? Are you crying out, “Lord, develop me!”
We have to be intentional. We have to be purposeful. And some days we have to get in our own business.
If you’re not where you set out to be, don’t fall into a pit of self-pity. That’s not gonna get you anywhere.
No.
Instead, fall into a Kingdom-focused mindset where you are constantly looking back, reflecting, and asking yourself the hard questions.
Give yourself a pep-talk, sister. God wants you to be the best version of yourself, but YOU have to put in the hard work.
“But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.” 2 chronicles 15:7
1 John 3:1-3 tells us, “See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason, the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”
Pondering this scripture always overwhelms me with the grace and mercy of our heavenly Father. He calls us His sons and daughters. We are adopted by grace. By all things that count in this world, we are unworthy, not enough. But God doesn’t call us to be enough because He is always more than enough. When we accept by faith that Jesus is Lord, His righteousness becomes ours. What indescribable grace! When our heavenly Father looks at us, He sees Jesus.
I love the part of this scripture that says, “it has not appeared as yet what we will be…” Have you wondered, like me, what you will be when you grow up? (Yes, at 65, I’m still wondering…) I am a daughter, a wife, a mother, a grandmother, a cousin, an aunt, a friend. I’m a teacher and a leader of teachers. I’ve been a secretary, an onion chopper, a babysitter, a newspaper typist, a Sunday school teacher. Those are the paths the Lord has given me to walk, but they don’t fully describe me. I am a child of God journeying Home. Jesus calls me to walk in the light as He is in the light. He calls me to be a faithful servant, to listen and obey. Though I may slip and fall, He always remains faithful. I serve the One who sees me and loves me despite my waywardness. Thank you, Lord!
I hope that we never forget that we are created for a purpose both here on earth and in heaven. God has a good plan for us, “a plan to prosper and not to harm.” One day when Jesus comes again, we will be transformed “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.” (1 Corinthians 15:52) I can only imagine what awaits, but I trust that it will be perfect, just as our Lord is perfect.
Well, here in Southeast Texas, there can be no doubt that the seasons are changing – between the heat and a crazy thunderstorm that seems very closely related to a hurricane,complete with no electricity and downed trees everywhere, it’s summer, people.
I don’t know what this last season of your life has been like, but my last season has been fairly difficult. I’ve actually beendealing with the big C – cancer. Now before you gasp and feel too sorry for me, I have a great prognosis and have just finished chemo, awaiting a decision on surgery. Honestly, it could have been so much worse. But, between cancer and this not-so-friendly little thing called chronic pancreatitis, it’s been a struggle.
But I’m here to tell you that…I survived! And, God, being so good and faithful, has been with me every step of the way and has taught me SO many things, about Him, about myself, about people. I can’t say that it’s something I would’ve ever chosen to go through, nor do I want to go through it again, but I know these precious lessons I’ve learned, I wouldn’t have learned if I hadn’t gone through it.
In the beginning, my husband and I had so much peace – it was crazy! I can truly say that it’s the first time, maybe in my whole life, that I’ve experienced “the peace that passes all understanding.” And that is so cool! I have fantastic doctors, who from the beginning, said,
“Oh, you’ll be fine; you’ll be cured.”
And, I said,
“I’ll take it!”
So we started down the long tunnel of treatment: eight rounds of chemo and five consecutive days of high-powered radiation. I thought,
“OK, seems straight-forward enough. I can do this.”
Of course, being Believers, we understood that when we enter into a time of trouble, we should take that trouble to God, first. Immediately! And we did. My husband, who has been the absolute best care-taker and partner I could have ever imagined, “surrendered everything to God.” And, I started treatment.
Enter: pancreatitis. I had had a severe bout with pancreatitis, that ended with an inpatient hospital stay back in July, and I knew I had some leftover issues with it, but it hadn’t reared its ugly head in several months and a cancer diagnosis pretty much trumps EVERY other medical issue, so I didn’t spend much time thinking about my pancreas. I just kept following my low-fat diet and concentrated on beating the cancer…until after my third chemo treatment.
One night, as I was getting ready for bed, I started hurting. And,I mean HURTING. Side note: I’ve given birth and pancreatic pain makes that feel like a paper cut. I was hurting in my upper abdomen, chest, and back. I honestly thought I was having a heart attack. Long story short, it was a severe attack of pancreatitis, which landed me back in the hospital for 13 days and 4 endoscopic surgeries, to put in stents, and other really gross stuff you don’t want to read about. As a result of my lovely pancreas, I had to stop treatment for two months. I lost even more weight. Worst of all, it was a huge blow to me, emotionally and even spiritually.
My prayers during this time went something like this,
“God, really? Cancer isn’t enough? Where are you? Are you, like, taking a nap or something? This isn’t how it’s supposed to be!”
See, while I thought I had surrendered this trouble to God, in reality, I’d held on to my own ideas of how this process should look, how it should feel, how long it should take, and on and on. Each time I would pray, God would gently remind me that He was in control and ask me to do more than just surrender this sickness to Him,
“Please surrender this PROCESS to Me, Sherra. I have your best interests in mind and I am working.” Insert long sigh here.
See, I hadn’t surrendered this process to God and I was kicking and screaming and crying because I wanted God to do things my way. I forgot that God is the one who has the GOOD plan for my life; I forgot that He sees way down the road of my life and knows what needs to happen for my ultimate good. He realized that, in order for my health to truly be restored, my pancreas needed to get healthier. And, He was right. Dang it.
And, so I had to do just that. At the end of my last hospital stay, my oncologist ordered an MRI of my tumor – something she said they never get to do with most patients, but because I was already in the hospital (wink), we could. The MRI showed that after just three of my eight chemo treatments, my tumor had already shrunk significantly! Yay! We were all so excited!
Psalm 37:5-7b tells us,
Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust Him, and He will help you. He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn, and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun. Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for Him to act.
Maybe you’re in a tough season of life right now and don’t understand or like the process – I so feel that all the way down to my toes! But, I can tell you, from firsthand experience, the BEST thing you can do is to trust in God’s process for your life – in times of triumph and in times of trouble. He sees way more than we do and He is always, always working on our behalf.
A few years back, I was having a conversation with the big sister. I don’t know what led us there but I said, and I said it sassy, “well, I wish mom would’ve taught me how to cook.”
Big sister got in my business real quick like. This is what she said – “Daisy, mom was cleaning. Mom was working full-time. Mom was cooking, and mom coached some of our sporting events so excuse her if she didn’t have time to stop and teach you how to cook.” And if I’m being honest my momma did most of our laundry – a task my own children have been mostly doing on their own for years.
Shame on me for real.
The thing is my mom didn’t have time to stop
and have a Pinterest worthy photo shoot of her teaching us how to cook. She was doing all the things. Her job was physically hard. She was exhausted, but she kept on going to make sure we were taken care of. She did all the things that needed to get done and she did them well.
I say all of that to say this – daughters give your momma some grace. And mommas – give yourself some grace.
And if I could, I would tell my momma I’m sorry right now for even feeling that way about her.
Ladies, you don’t have to do it all all. In fact, you can’t. You’ll get burnt out on the basics real quick like if you continue to try. But you do have to do what’s most important – love those babies and point them toward Jesus.
And side note – I hope you have someone like my big sister in your life. Someone that speaks the truth to you in love. Someone that will get straight up in your business when needed. And I hope you listen to them even when it hurts.
As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.
A legacy is something that is passed on to future generations. This month marks ten years since my mother met her Savior face to face causing me to think a lot about her and her legacy. People remember her as a kind, soft spoken pastor’s wife and an amazing educator. She always exhibited love, even to those we might deem unlovable. As a wife and mother, she faithfully cared for us. She prayed endlessly for us as she spent time daily in the word. As a grandmother, she loved fiercely and prayed fervently for her grandbabies. Her commitment to her Savior was evident to all who knew her. Her legacy is one of prayer, love, grace, and beauty all stemming from Jesus.
As I’ve thought about her legacy, I am brought to a place of asking about my own legacy. What am I leaving behind that is being passed on to future generations? Reading through 1 Kings 15, we see descriptions of legacies that have been left by some of its kings.
“Nevertheless, the heart of Asa was wholly true to the Lord all his days.”
1 Kings 15:14a
“David did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and did not turn aside from anything that he commanded him all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.”
1 Kings 15:5
“He (Baasha) did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and walked in the way of his father, and in his sin which he made Israel to sin.”
1 Kings 15:26
Life is fleeting, but what we do and how we live will be remembered. We will all leave a legacy of some kind. Will we be remembered for complaining, being ungrateful, just getting by, putting ourselves before anything and anyone else? Will we be like Baasha doing “what was evil in the sight of the Lord” and causing others to sin? Or, will we be remembered like Asa, “true to the Lord all his days”, and like David who “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord”? While my mother isn’t in the Bible, I have to ask if we will also be remembered like her, living a life of prayer, love, grace, and beauty stemming from Jesus?
When our lives are over I hope we will be able to say, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” 2 Timothy 4:7 I pray our legacies will be, “(your name) fought the good fight, (your name) finished the race, (your name) kept the faith.”
Dear God, help us remember that what we do in life does matter and will be remembered by those we leave behind. Let us live lives that leave legacies of love, grace, truth, and faithfulness.
Rays of Sunshine inc 