Thursday, October 28, 2010

Your Blessing is on the Way

Psalms 37:1-7
4 "Trust yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart"

As a child, I remember thinking that everything happened immediately.  When I was young, the word "wait" doesn't quite register in my brain because often times when I asked for something, I get an immediate answer; either yes or no.  Now I notice, when dealing with young children, they will continuously ask the same question until they get some sort of answer from you and even continue to ask until they get a yes.  I had the "privilege" of watching my baby cousin one morning and I remember him standing around me when he saw me preparing his food saying "eat, eat?" over and over again.  I had to tell him it wasn't ready yet but he still did not understand and continued to repeat his words until I fed him.  As Christians, we do this almost everyday as we pray and ask for things from the Lord but, like children, are too impatient to wait for an answer.  I used to love a saying I heard in Sunday School years back that told me when I asked God for something He will always answer; He will give me a "'yes', 'no' or a 'not right now.'" This passage in Psalms addresses in many ways our requests of God so in this devotional, I will note a few things I think we should remember when it comes to our petitions.

#1 What is your motive?: Why is it that you want whatever it is that you are asking for? Really think about it. Is it  a part of God's will? Will it benefit the Kingdom? Is it something that you truly want or do you have some alternative motive?  The first verse of Psalms 37 tells us "Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong;"  and I believe it is very relevant to some of our requests of God.  Ask yourself, do you want money because those around you seem happier with money? Do you want to marry because all your co-workers are married and seem to have better lives? Are you asking for things out of envy or true desire to do God's will?  I don't believe God will honor your requests if you are asking with the wrong intentions.  Verse four says "delight yourself in Him and he will give you the desires of your heart" so if you are looking towards others lives and asking for things they have in order to make you happy, you aren't delighting yourself in Him first. Find your joy in the Lord before you begin to ask for the extra.

CHECK BACK TOMORROW FOR THE SECOND POINT!

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