Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Waiting Gracefully: Heart's Desires

It is so easy to proclaim something as the desire of our heart, but how often do we really make sure that these desires are from Him?

I remember wanting to begin praying for my future husband - but realizing that before I began praying with a pure heart and believing in faith that God would answer - I needed to know that the desires in my heart were from Him.

How could I honestly pray and ask God for a husband when I wondered if it was just what I wanted or what He wanted for me?

I can remember earnestly seeking Him in prayer about His desires for me and therefore the desires of my heart and I focused on this verse ~

Psalm 37:4,
"Delight yourself in the Lord and
He will give you the desires of your heart."

It strikes me that when we are delighting in the Lord, the desires in our hearts are the ones HE places there. Not the things that we in our flesh seek. So, the way that He can promise to give us the desires of our hearts is by knowing that He is really allowing us to desire the same things He wants for us and complete His will in us. His will becomes my will and He delights to fulfill those things.

Are you in a season of waiting? Have you sought to delight yourself in the Lord and let His desires fill your heart? May it be that He would impress upon our hearts, the desires He has for us and may they become our most precious desires as well.

10 comments:

Lisar said...

Thank you for the encouragement and challenge of this post Monica... I feel I have been waiting SOOOOO long for the Lord to bless me with a husband (I am in my 40's)....but I find I go through seasons of being impatient....thank you for the reminder that I need to continue to seek God's desires for me and not my own....This is most certainly a word for me at the EXACT right time.....

Alyssa Rose said...

Thank you for your encouragement! It is so true that "the desires in our hearts are the ones He places there. Not the things that we in our flesh seek."

Nancy at EmbroideryIt.com said...

What a beautiful post. I have for many years desired a business but only if that business could be uplifting to the Lord. I wondered for some time if my desires were what the Lord desired for me. Thus far, I hear from God that my business is caring for my husband and children during this season of my life and I'm ok with that.
Blessings,
Nancy

~katie~ said...

I'm so glad you are posting on this series, and someday I hope to have my daughter read it! I love how you said:

"It strikes me that when we are delighting in the Lord, the desires in our hearts are the ones HE places there. "

Yes, God is so good! I know that it's only Him who has changed so many of my desires ~ and I know that He has a long way to go with me yet.

Looking forward to all of your thoughts on this topic.

Megan said...

I am in a season of waiting..... we are moving (?) but waiting on an official job change.... so stressful!

Thanks for this beautiful post!

Much love to you and yours!

Elise said...

I have that very verse written on the chalkboard in the kitchen. I am not sure that I am delighting myself in the Lord so much, but I am praying for direction in house stuff. As in, I want to sell and move, but now may not be the best time and all...
Elise

Julie said...

Thank you so much for this series, Monica. I waited what seemed like forever to meet my husband and, by societal standards, was quite old when I married. Then a struggle with infertility meant more waiting for the family we wanted. That verse was so important to me during those waiting periods.

On a slightly different vein, during my waiting periods I became acutely aware of how many church fellowship and even ministry events are really designed for families, wives, or mothers. As a single woman I was invited to many (at different churches) and went to many only to discover that I was terribly out of place. Now as a wife and mother, I try especially hard with any events I plan to have them be comfortable for single women or wives who are not mothers.

Wendi said...

I would have loved to read this series when I was waiting. I waited a long time (Chuck and I were married when I was 30 and he 29) and am not sure I always did it with grace!

Love the verse... I have it printed on a tile in my kitchen.

Mary Ann said...

Thank you for this, Monica.

I have been in a season of waiting for 5 years as I wait for God to bless me with the child I so long for.

This season has been much more difficult for me than waiting for so many years to be married.

Along with delighting myself in Him, the best advice I've received during this time has been to put and keep my hope in the Lord. Hope does not disappoint!(Romans 5:5)

Because no earthly desire can ultimately bring me fulfillment, only the hope I have in Christ can do that.

I have asked Him to take away this desire for a child if it is not from Him and so far He has not done that. :-) So I continue to believe that in His perfect timing, He will bless us with a child. He sees the bigger picture and I have to trust that He has the best in mind for us, even though I have no idea!

For me, waiting gracefully during this season means keeping my focus on building my relationship with Christ and on the needs of others rather than fixating on my circumstances. This can be very hard to do sometimes, but God's grace helps me through.

I felt like I was supposed to share this and hope and pray that it will be an encouragement to someone.:-)

Charli said...

Thank you for your great post Monica! I really echo what Lisar said before - this feels like a message for me just at the right time! I'm 22 and have been struggling recently with accepting the Lord's plans for me even if they are not what I think I want. Your post really helped me reprioritise - thank you!