The Holy One calls to me this morning. With only a few days left, this year is rapidly closing and the hopes and dreams for 2019 are starting to come as the cross-over draws near.
For the last few years I have made it a point to ask the Lord for a promise out of His word to focus on over the ensuing 12 months on the earth calendar. God never changes and neither do His promises. My circumstances, on the other hand, can change rapidly so I find it quite necessary to anchor to His word before my boat starts to rock.
Thinking of past years, the Holy One reminds me, "I am God of the impossible, able and willing to do and give more than you can think or imagine".
The classic tradition of the New Year is to make resolutions; self-improvement goals that rarely provide anything more than great frustration within ourselves. The goals are sound but the ability to achieve them in and of ourselves lags way behind the desire to see them accomplished.
The Holy One takes me back to my anchor, Psalms 37:4, "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart".
I find that in His presence there is joy, while in the world of humanity there is trouble, heartache and sorrow. For those of us who have made those resolutions as each New year begins, it seems that we really are revealing a heart desire to make ourselves or our lives better.
We know of this thing called desire but have no way of capturing it, so we settle for the lesser things that lust can provide. Desire has for so long been associated with our flesh that we assume that it cannot be compatible with God's Will. It is a mistake in failing to realize that true desire comes from the Creator Himself.
Our human desire and God's Holy Will are not as opposing as we might superficially think or as conflicted as legalism may try to teach us. The Lord knows our every thought and scheme, and whether we believe it or not, the Lord has X-ray eyes. Nothing we put on, not even a deceptive attitude can hide us from His penetrating vision. If we let those misgivings go unchallenged, we will be tempted to run away from the Lord and even deny or try to hide our desires. But almost worse than running is trying to fulfill those desires in our own way.
His word to me this morning cuts through all the self-effort I attempt in order to get what I desire for myself. This promise starts with a directive but unlike "eat healthy", or "stop smoking" or "run a mile every day", this directive is all about attitude. "Delight yourself in the Lord' simply means, be happy in your thoughts about the Lord. Think pleasurable thoughts about Him. Rejoice in your relationship with Him.
The usual New Year's resolutions involve a pathetic self-focus, and usually some sort of pain, but as we delight in the Lord our attention is turned toward Him in a pleasant way. I take note that the directive does not require me to go out and do something for God.This promise does not involve an exchange of "works" as in "you do something for me and I will do something for you".
Getting past the formalities with God and into the Sacred Romance can take some time. We have been fed lies about the Lord God that corrupt our perspective and taint our understanding of Him. We may believe that God is full of wrath or patently indifferent to His created or even non-existent. All these lies are part of an antagonistic challenge to the directive: "Delight yourself in the Lord".
Even a blood washed believer can falter in the call to "Delight" in the Lord and fear of desire can cripple the fulfillment of it. The Holy One calls to me and as I answer, I find that my fears slowly begin to melt away. There is peace in transparency and to my great "delight" I find acceptance in spite of all that I fear or hate about myself.
However, one remaining fear. that my human desires would be at cross purpose to His will and therefore exempt from Holy fulfillment sends me back to the promise. Is there an exception I have missed?
As I take a closer look at this verse and re-read the promise, truth presents a new perspective. When I delight in the Lord, He will not just give me the desires of my heart as in grant them, but He will give me the desires of my heart as in establish and provide them. His will then is bound together with what I desire and what I desire is bound together with His will.
With delight in my heart, the joy of the Lord fills me and contrary to the perception that human desire and God's will are polar opposites, I find to my great delight that they actually become one and the same.
The Spirit is calling. Can you hear Him?
.
For the last few years I have made it a point to ask the Lord for a promise out of His word to focus on over the ensuing 12 months on the earth calendar. God never changes and neither do His promises. My circumstances, on the other hand, can change rapidly so I find it quite necessary to anchor to His word before my boat starts to rock.
Thinking of past years, the Holy One reminds me, "I am God of the impossible, able and willing to do and give more than you can think or imagine".
The classic tradition of the New Year is to make resolutions; self-improvement goals that rarely provide anything more than great frustration within ourselves. The goals are sound but the ability to achieve them in and of ourselves lags way behind the desire to see them accomplished.
The Holy One takes me back to my anchor, Psalms 37:4, "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart".
I find that in His presence there is joy, while in the world of humanity there is trouble, heartache and sorrow. For those of us who have made those resolutions as each New year begins, it seems that we really are revealing a heart desire to make ourselves or our lives better.
We know of this thing called desire but have no way of capturing it, so we settle for the lesser things that lust can provide. Desire has for so long been associated with our flesh that we assume that it cannot be compatible with God's Will. It is a mistake in failing to realize that true desire comes from the Creator Himself.
Our human desire and God's Holy Will are not as opposing as we might superficially think or as conflicted as legalism may try to teach us. The Lord knows our every thought and scheme, and whether we believe it or not, the Lord has X-ray eyes. Nothing we put on, not even a deceptive attitude can hide us from His penetrating vision. If we let those misgivings go unchallenged, we will be tempted to run away from the Lord and even deny or try to hide our desires. But almost worse than running is trying to fulfill those desires in our own way.
His word to me this morning cuts through all the self-effort I attempt in order to get what I desire for myself. This promise starts with a directive but unlike "eat healthy", or "stop smoking" or "run a mile every day", this directive is all about attitude. "Delight yourself in the Lord' simply means, be happy in your thoughts about the Lord. Think pleasurable thoughts about Him. Rejoice in your relationship with Him.
The usual New Year's resolutions involve a pathetic self-focus, and usually some sort of pain, but as we delight in the Lord our attention is turned toward Him in a pleasant way. I take note that the directive does not require me to go out and do something for God.This promise does not involve an exchange of "works" as in "you do something for me and I will do something for you".
Getting past the formalities with God and into the Sacred Romance can take some time. We have been fed lies about the Lord God that corrupt our perspective and taint our understanding of Him. We may believe that God is full of wrath or patently indifferent to His created or even non-existent. All these lies are part of an antagonistic challenge to the directive: "Delight yourself in the Lord".
Even a blood washed believer can falter in the call to "Delight" in the Lord and fear of desire can cripple the fulfillment of it. The Holy One calls to me and as I answer, I find that my fears slowly begin to melt away. There is peace in transparency and to my great "delight" I find acceptance in spite of all that I fear or hate about myself.
However, one remaining fear. that my human desires would be at cross purpose to His will and therefore exempt from Holy fulfillment sends me back to the promise. Is there an exception I have missed?
As I take a closer look at this verse and re-read the promise, truth presents a new perspective. When I delight in the Lord, He will not just give me the desires of my heart as in grant them, but He will give me the desires of my heart as in establish and provide them. His will then is bound together with what I desire and what I desire is bound together with His will.
With delight in my heart, the joy of the Lord fills me and contrary to the perception that human desire and God's will are polar opposites, I find to my great delight that they actually become one and the same.
The Spirit is calling. Can you hear Him?
.
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