Rethinking, Reexamining, Rehashing

This past week has found me rethinking the way I view a lot of things. Maybe it was the approach of my birthday that had me feeling like I should begin reevaluating things in my life or maybe it's just time for me to sit down and really think about some things that maybe I haven't given a lot of thought to before. A couple of months ago I blogged about hating being alone and how difficult that was for me. It still is. But I think I don't like being alone because it forces me to really evaluate things, my beliefs, my opinions, my feelings, and sometimes I just don't like to do that. So maybe this recent influx of alone time has led to this recent surge of reevaluation. A friend and I talked about those times we all have where we have read a passage of scripture a dozen times before but it's that thirteenth time that we read it when begins to take a new form. I think part of that is directly correlated with our growth and maturity in Christ and part of it deals with the circumstances of our life. This past week, that particular verse for me was one that I have heard quoted numerous times, a lot of times by single girls who are trying to encourage their single friends. I cannot even tell you the number of times I have heard that verse used in that specific context. Granted, I've heard it used in other contexts as well but this past week, the verse really began to take on a new form in my mind. You have probably all figured out which verse I'm referring to but for those of you who haven't, Psalm 37:4

"Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart." 

Before I go into this, I want to go up and read verse three as well. 

"Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness."

I want to spend a moment here. When I looked up the definition of faithfulness I found that one interpretation is being consistent with truth or actuality. I liked this because the bible that I normally read is an NCV and verse three in it says, 

"Trust the Lord and do good. Live in the land and feed on truth."

I read these verses and my brain took off. The Lord opened my eyes to a different meaning of this scripture than I had ever embraced before. Live in the land and feed on truth, cultivate faithfulness, trust in the Lord. What do all of those things mean and how do we go from those things to getting the desires of our heart. It's simple.

A lot of times, we think of the desires of our heart in a worldly fashion-being comfortable, having happiness, having a family, having a nice job, desiring to succeed- but these are not the desires that will be fulfilled when we delight ourselves in Father. Yes, some of these things may come but those aren't the true desires of our heart. Because of the fall, our heart is empty. It's dead. We are out of communion with our Creator and because of that, we are not fulfilled. We look for fulfillment in the ways of the world, the desires that we think will make us happy, or the things we want so badly and try so hard to obtain and think, sometimes fully believe, that once we have that we will be set for life. We live for ourselves. Just look at Ephesians 2. As long as we continue to live out of communion with Father, our lives will never feel full and our heart will always be broken. It's in an intimate relationship with our God where we find complete fulfillment and the true desires of our heart-Him.

"God began by making one person, and from him came all the different people who live everywhere in the world. God decided exactly when and where they must live. God wanted them to look for Him and perhaps search all around for Him and FIND HIM though He is not far from any of us; By His power we live and move and EXIST."-Acts 17:27-28

I'm sure many of you have had those moments when you can feel the Lord's presence-whether it's through worship, service, teaching, or even struggles. In those moments, the sweetness and excitement and full joy that is experienced can hardly be described to someone else. It's in those moments when the realization comes that communion with Him surpasses any worldly desire that we could ever strive to gain. Our hearts are only full when they are full of Him.

"I tell you the truth, you will cry and be sad, but the world will be happy. You will be sad, but your sadness will become joy......It is the same with you. Now you are sad, but I will see you again and you will be happy and no one will take away your joy." John 16:20,22

Joy that is unshakeable comes only through Christ. And once we have that joy, it cannot be taken away from us. Once we dwell with the Lord, the desires of our heart are granted. We are loved and have complete redemption and reconciliation with Him. Our hearts are given new life and are no longer dead. Our desires then become centered around Him and that communion with our Father.

"Since you were raised from the dead with Christ, aim at what is in heaven, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. Think only about the things in heaven, not the things on earth. Your old sinful self has died, and your new life is kept with Christ in God. CHRIST IS YOUR LIFE, and when He comes again, you will share in His glory." Colossians 3:1-4

So, trust in the Lord, do good, dwell in the land, and feed on truth. Truth teaches us that this world is fleeting therefore desires of this world are temporary and our hearts are set on eternity. Truth tells us that full joy is found in Christ. Truth tells us that on our own we are dead and only through Christ's death do we have life. Truth tells us that we were created in God's own image, we began in full communion with Him, and we sinned and therefore no longer were able to stay in that sweet communion but rather were separated from God. Truth tells us that one day we will be restored to full communion with our Father through Christ. And I pray as I continue in this life that THAT is the desire of my heart.