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Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4
On occasion I used to officiate sporting events. Yep, I was one of those dreaded guys in stripped shirts. Generally speaking you have to have a pretty solid view of yourself to don the stripes and whistle. You go into each event realizing that at least half of the people at the event could very well hate you before you leave.
An old joke among officials is that if you leave the event with EVERYONE mad at you, you have done a good job! You simply won’t make everyone happy in that situation. In fact, you may be praised one minute for making ‘a good call’ and lambasted the next for being a complete idiot.
The people in stripes, for the most part, enter into each event with the goal of keeping the event fair for everyone. Regardless of what we think, the vast majority of the time they have no ‘ax to grind’ as they enter the arena. However, they are human and will miss calls, make bad calls and like any of us, just plain blow the call. Expect it. They are human.
So what does all this have to do with ‘taking delight in the Lord?’ Too often, whether we want to admit it or not, we often see God as a ‘super-powered referee’. We expect that because He is God, and He is perfect, and He loves us and promises to take care of us, that the ‘call’ will always go our way. Life shows us that simply isn’t the case. Life is hard. Life deals us bad ‘cards’. Finances fail, relationships fail, health fails, we grow old. We make mistakes, we sin, we are abused.
The Psalmist encourages us to take delight in THE LORD, not necessarily in the things He allows to happen in our lives. The main difference between God and the people wearing the strips is that God can see ahead, is perfect and has our best interest in mind.
Taking delight in Him requires that we grow in relationship with Him, trust Him in every situation, and acknowledge that even when things don’t go our way, our Heavenly Father always knows what is best.
It’s an interesting phenomenon but people who take delight in the Lord can enjoy peace and contentment even in the toughest times. Don’t judge God on the things we see around us. Judge Him on who He is. His loves for you supersedes the tough times of life.
PRAYER: Father God. I confess to you that there are times when I don’t agree with the way things are going in my life. Some of my prayers seem unanswered. Others are answered but not in the way I asked. I get angry with you. I lose hope. When that happens the joy of relationship with You is tarnished. Forgive me for wanting my own way. Help me to trust You even during the times when You don’t answer me the way I want. In Jesus name, Amen.
For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. You have done a foolish thing, and from now on you will be at war.” 2 Chronicles 16:9
After Solomon was King of Israel, the country was divided by civil war into two nations, Israel and Judah. Although these two nations were of the same ancestry, they fought continuously. One day Asa, king of Judah heard that the King of Israel was planning to take some of Judah’s land and perhaps attack.
Asa went to the temple, but not to pray. He went to the temple to take some of the gold and silver that belonged to God and use it to pay off a neighboring king to help defend Judah from Israel. God spoke to Asa through a prophet. In effect, God’s words went something like this.
“Asa, don’t you know that I am sitting here in heaven looking over the entire world just looking for people who need my help? Don’t you realize that I want nothing more than to help you in the battles of life? Haven’t you figured out yet that I’m waiting here for you to ask for help? Yet you still go to other kings, other places to get your protection. From now on you will be subject to those around you and you will face many struggles.
Now, one would think that Asa would have listened to the prophet and confessed his lack of trust in God, but that wasn’t the case. Asa became angry with the prophet and with God. He threw the prophet in prison and tortured him.
Years later, Asa got a serious disease. Once again he refused to ask God for help in healing him and he eventually died.
The tragic story of Asa is played out everyday by people here on earth. We may think that God isn’t interested in our ‘small problems’. I was talking with a woman one day who was telling me her problems. I asked if she’d prayed about it and her response was, “He’s got plenty of bigger problems in the world to deal with. He can’t be bothered by me.” The sad thing was, she really believed that and sometimes we do to.
We may be like a stubborn child who refuses a parent’s help to get dressed. Even though we may struggle with life’s problems we are convinced that if we just try harder we will be able to conquer what ever it is that is troubling us. We may change jobs, or end relationships, or blame others all in an effort to get through this journey called life. We’d never admit it, but in a sense we are saying to God, “I know how to do this better than you. Step aside and see how it’s done!”
Regardless of what you are going through today, realize this. Your Heavenly Father is like an eagle soaring high above the earth, watching your every move and seeing what lies ahead. He not only sees your struggle, He sees your heart. He is waiting for you to let go and trust Him. He may allow you to go through consequences and pain to make you stronger, but He will never leave you alone if you call on Him and walk in relationship with Him.
Your Heavenly Father longs to be involved in every decision of your life because of His great love for you. Invite Him to walk the path of life with you.
PRAYER: Father God. I confess to you that there are many times I have taken matters into my own hands and never even thought of asking for your help. I praise you for the lesson of Asa and the reality that you are watching my every move and know my heart and desires. Right now I’m struggling with life and with consequences of my own choices. Forgive me from forgetting you and empower me with your Spirit to walk in such close relationship with you that you are involved in every decision of my life. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. 2 Corinthians 9:12
“The best way to get people to praise God is to bless them. Even works with your enemies!” These were the words of a friend of mine I’ll call Ben. Ben had a casual friend we’ll call Steve several years earlier. This ‘friend’ and Ben had a falling out and, unfortunately, even though both parties were Christ-followers, the relationship was never the same. One day, shortly after the falling out, Ben received some unexpected money.
“I went to bed that night wondering how to spend the money,” Ben told me. “It wasn’t a large amount, but I wanted to spend it wisely. The Lord brought one name to my mind over and over again,” Ben smiled as he told the story. “I just couldn’t get Steve out of mind. I knew he needed some work done on his car. I also knew that if I tried to give him any money it would be rejected or misunderstood. So, I decided to send him an anonymous letter in the mail with the cash I knew would repair his car.”
Ben went on to tell how, several days later Steve was praising God to everyone he saw because of how the Lord had blessed him. “I wanted to come forward so bad!” Ben still smiled to tell the story, “but we were both blessed by the gift and that’s the important thing.”
How do you get people to praise God? By blessing them! It may not be money. It may be shoveling their sidewalk after a snowstorm, or mowing their grass while they are on vacation, or throwing out the guidelines on tipping at the restaurant (even if the service is terrible!).
It’s not always easy to bless someone else with our service. We can be abused or taken advantage of, misunderstood or criticized. It’s especially hard when the ones God calls us to serve are our ‘enemies’ or hate us. During the times when serving others is hard remember that our service to other people is really service to God.
Serving others is a three-fold blessing. We are blessed in our giving, those we serve are blessed by our service and God is blessed by their praise! When you get the opportunity to serve others, remember that your service never affects just one person. Our Heavenly Father loves to hear the praise of His people and serving others always leads to our Father being praised as well.
PRAYER: Awesome Heavenly Father. You have blessed me in so many ways. I have life. I have Jesus. I have the promise of eternity with You. Empower me by your Holy Spirit to reach out to those around me and bless them so that they in turn will give you the praise you so richly deserve. Help me remember that it isn’t my praise I seek but Yours. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.
Be generous: Invest in acts of charity. Charity yields high returns. Don’t hoard your goods; spread them around. Be a blessing to others. This could be your last night. Ecclesiastes 11:1-2 (The Message)
The story is told of two gentleman that grew up in a small town in the plains of the USA. Both men were well known in the small town where they lived. One was very rich. He drove the finest cars, his ranch had many acres of wheat and cattle, and the equipment he owned was always the latest model. He never married and lived alone in a huge home on top of a hill outside town. His home was clearly visible to any who would pass by.
The other gentleman lived on a modest ranch. While he had many acres of land his equipment was old and would often break down. He had several children of his own but most of the kids in town called him ‘dad’. It seems there was always a party going on at his modest home with lots of laughing and games and fun!
One day both men fell seriously ill. The wealthy man lay in bed for days until finally, he died. No one found him for months because they seldom saw him around town anyway. The second man was showered with concern and prayers. His chores were gladly taken care of by his children and those in town.
A few days after the first gentleman died there was a small funeral at the local church. Years later, when the second man died the entire town turned out to honor the life of this man. What was the difference between the men? Both men were very wealthy financially, but the difference between the two men is that the first person invested all of his time in making more money, having the newest gadgets and making a ‘name for himself.’
The second man invested his life in relationships. While he could have spent his money on himself, he was far more concerned about helping others and sharing what he had with others.
Solomon, in his wisdom tells each of us to invest the things God has given us in the lives of others. Status, homes, toys and healthy retirement accounts will all come to an end. The things we do to invest in relationships will last for eternity.
PRAYER: Father God, I thank you that I am so blessed. I don’t have much money. I’m not world famous by any means. But you’ve given me life! Help me to see ways in which I can share what you have given me with others. In Jesus name, Amen.
And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 2 Corinthians 9:8
There is a story in the book of Acts about a couple who got caught up in the generosity of the Christ-followers in Jerusalem. Everyone was giving away their possessions to help the poor and this couple had some land that they wanted to donate so that they would look good to the others. The problem was they weren’t quite ready to part with ALL the money from that land so they devised a plan where they would lie to the disciples and tell them they sold the land for less than they really did.
The plan backfired on the couple though and they were found out. The consequence for their deceitfulness? Death! God struck them both down in front of everyone. It was a harsh reminder then, and now, of the importance of having the right attitude about our giving. They were not required to give everything to the believers in their group and their motive was pure selfishness.
I don’t have any strong theological reason for saying this, but I wonder if one of the reasons God was so hard on this couple is because He is so generous to us. Paul writes to the church in Corinth to remind them that God gives ALL things at ALL times so we will have ALL we need to do ALL good works. In other words, God doesn’t hold back anything from His vast storehouse of blessing.
Our Heavenly Father wants to bless us generously so that we can bless others generously. We like to think that His blessing is physical and sometimes it is, but more often our blessing comes in the realm of emotional and spiritual blessing. Physical blessing fades away, but the blessing of our hearts can never be taken from us.
Sometimes it’s hard to be generous because extreme generosity is risky for us. We are afraid that if we are too generous our own needs will go unmet. We are afraid that others may misjudge our motives or take advantage of our kindness. Other times (we hate to admit this) we hold back our blessing of others because they have hurt us and we refuse to forgive them.
Our Father is generous to us without conditions and knowing we won’t always appreciate His blessing. As Christ-followers, how we bless others is a reflection of our Father’s generosity to the world around us. Be willing to practice X-treme generosity in the name of Jesus. Take some risks knowing that your kindness may not be returned and that you may be taken advantage of.
PRAYER: Dear Father in Heaven. I confess to you that often my generosity is motivated by my desire for recognition and appreciation. It’s difficult to give to others when I am not appreciated, when I’m misunderstood or when those I’m to bless have hurt me. Empower me with your Holy Spirit to bless those in my corner of the world for your sake and not mine. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 