Give Me My Delight

Susan K. Stewart is an analytical woman, so it doesn't surprise me she took time to think through why she felt so aimless. In this Relationship with God UPGRADE, she shares how she learned to delight in the Lord, and how that helped her learn to walk closer to His will.

"I’ve been wandering aimlessly recently. So many good projects, so many good causes, so many good books." Susan says. "While wandering I’ve been unsettled—feeling as though no matter the way I decide to go, I only get to a roadblock."

I (Dawn) think all Christ-followers feel a little aimless and unsettled sometimes. In my experience, I've usually tried to fill those times with busyness, but I never felt satisfied. As Susan explains, there's something far deeper I needed, and perhaps you do too.

Susan continues . . .

Often, I find myself just sitting in the path crying, "God, what is it You want me to do?"

Too often, my cry is, "Lord, You promised to give me the desires of my heart."

But, is that really what He promises?

Most of us are familiar with this "promise" in Psalm 37:4–5:

Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.

Oh, so many times I'm guilty of telling God what I want—the plans I have—and then waiting for Him to fulfill those plans.

Once He's done his part, I'll do my part: delight in Him.

• When I look back at my journal, I find I ask God to be the center of what I do.
• I see now why I wander aimlessly. I need to be at the center of what he is doing.

That does sound very spiritual and heaven-minded, but how does being at the center of what God's desires look every day? I’m not sure it means quietly meditating all day long or spending most of the day reading scripture.

If that is what God is leading you to do, go for it.

Those activities don't work well for my soul or, quite frankly, my pocketbook.

About two weeks into my search for God’s desire—for the way for me to delight myself in Him—I began to read once again St. Augustine’s Confessions.

Right there in the first book, first writing, was the answer.

"The thought of you [God] stirs him [humans] so deeply that he cannot be content unless he praises you, because you made us for yourself and our hearts find no peace until they rest in you."

This section is accompanied with Ps. 22:26:

“The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the Lord! May your hearts live forever!” (emphasis added)

WHOA.

What does that say again? "Those who seek him will praise the Lord!"

If I’m to know God’s plans for me, the desires He puts in my heart, I must praise him.

I will find God in my praise.

According to Noah Webster in his 1828 Dictionary of American English, delight is "a high degree of pleasure, or satisfaction of mind; joy." He adds, "'Delight is a more permanent pleasure than joy, and not dependent on sudden excitement.' When we are told to delight ourselves in the Lord, it means, 'to have or take great pleasure; to be greatly pleased or rejoiced.'"

For some, this kind of delight does come with hours of long meditation or reading the Bible, or even retreating away from the everyday world.

I've learned delight is found in praising God, my Lord.

When I do that, I’m at the center of what He made me to do—worship Him. This delighting can take place anytime, anyplace.

I can tell you my path became clearer as to what project to go forward with, what to drop.

I can also tell you I have managed to leave the trail God so carefully marks for me.

How? I forgot to praise Him.

How easy it is.

I ended up where He didn’t want me to be. (I know, God. That's what You told me in the first place, right?)

Getting the reward of our desires is possible with a few steps. These aren’t always easy, but we can repeat them as often as needed.

1. Seek God.

We are told to "Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you" (Matthew 6:33).

We can’t receive from the Lord until we find Him, until we are where He is.

2. Love God.

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind" (Matthew 22:37).

Once we’ve found God, we fall in love with him. Our natural tendency is to want to please those we love.

3. Commit to God.

"Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act" (Psalm 37:5).

For me this is pivotal.

When I trust God, and let him map the route, I don't have to wonder, "What next?"

4. Delight in God.

As stated in Psalm 37:4, above, delighting in the Lord is key to the fulfillment of desires.

5. Receive from God.

Too often we think the second half of the same verse means when we praise God enough, He’ll give us what we want.

I believe we're being told God will place a desire in our hearts to follow His lead, His plan.

Now that I'm seeking Him once again in my praise, the path is opening up.

I'm finding God's desires right where He left them for me—in praise.

Do you feel as though you’re wandering aimlessly? What do you need to do find God’s desires? How will you delight in the Lord?

Susan K. Stewart is Managing Editor/Nonfiction with Elk Lake Publishing where she teaches, writes, and edits non-fiction. Susan’s passion is to inspire readers with practical, real-world solutions. Her books include Science in the Kitchen, Preschool: At What Cost?, Harried Homeschoolers Handbook, and the award-winning Formatting e-Books for Writers. Her latest book, Donkey Devos: Listening When God Speaks, is scheduled to be released spring 2021. You can learn more at her website.  

Graphic adapted, courtesy of Barbara Jackson at Pixabay.

How to Share Love in America (for Valentine's Day)

Stacie Stoelting is a Jesus-focused patriot who, with her sister, is on a mission to call America back to God. She and her sister are national recording artists, authors, and repeat "Fox News" guests. I thought she’d be perfect to share a special UPGRADE for Valentine’s Day!

“Every Valentine’s Day, the culture tries to shift our focus onto ourselves,” Stacie writes. “For instance, it tends to make us think, ‘How am I going to be happy on Valentine’s Day?’ That kind of focus is not what we, as believers, need to embrace.”

I (Dawn) appreciate Stacie’s redirecting of our thoughts here. I have personally encountered at least three people, just this week, who need a touch of God’s love—far beyond the “sentimental” love of Valentine’s Day.  

Stacie continues…

“Valentine’s Day can be a time to share God’s love with others and share Jesus with America…one neighborhood at a time. It’s an opportunity from God to do great things!”

Valentine’s Day presents major opportunities to share Jesus’ love at a prime time!

You see, as we know, Valentine’s Day catalyzes acute cases of loneliness at an epidemic rate in America.

The sufferers include a wide range of people:

• widows and widowers,
• divorced people,
• singles,
• military men and women serving away from home,
• unhappily married people, etc.

Again, this is an opportunity for Christians to share Jesus’ love and comfort!

I love this passage from II Corinthians 1:3-5 (ESV):

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.”

The best way to love America is to love Americans with Christ’s love and love the Lord, who allowed America to be founded.

Look around you. In America, a lot of people’s hearts ache today. Be the deliverer of Christ’s comfort.

Let’s cover the main heart health troubles in America and answer them with God’s Word.

1. Are you lonely?

Jesus is with you.

In Matthew 28:20, Jesus Christ Himself said, “I am with you all the days (perpetually, uniformly, and on every occasion), to the [very] close and consummation of the age.”

2. Are you persecuted and rejected?  

He will help you shake the dust off your feet and enter new territory for His kingdom.

Jesus said, “And wherever they do not receive and accept and welcome you, when you leave that town shake off [even] the dust from your feet, as a testimony against them.” (Luke 9:5)

3. Are you afraid?

Let the Lord draw you close to Himself and carry you.

“Even to your old age I am He, and even to hair white with age will I carry you. I have made, and I will bear; yes, I will carry and will save you.” (Isaiah 46:4)  

4. Have you been forsaken by a person or group of people?

Embrace Christ and realize that He will never forsake you.

“…He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!]” (Hebrews 13:5, AMP)

And now it’s your turn. Ask the Lord to bring someone to mind that needs to hear from you. 

• Perhaps it’s a veteran.
• Perhaps it’s a military family.
• Or could it be one of your loved ones with whom you’ve lost touch?

With prayer, share the truth in the preceding points and Scriptures with that person or group of people. Let us share about the One who binds up the wounds of the brokenhearted!

Again, to love America well, each of us must love our fellow Americans and our Lord, who allowed America to be founded in the first place.

Now, the real question remains: Near Valentine’s Day, will you share Christ’s love in America?

Stacie Ruth Stoelting and her sister, Carrie Beth Stoelting, are recording artists and authors of the book Unite the USA, recently endorsed by Mike Huckabee, Pat Boone, Rick Santorum (Patriot Voices), Tony Perkins (Family Research Counsel), and Mathew Staver (Liberty Counsel). To receive prayer or learn more about how to know God, go to www.PrayingPals.org (“Know God” page). To learn more about the Stoelting sisters’ Christ-focused, patriotic mission, visit UnitetheUSA.org.

Graphic adapted, Image courtesy of supakitmod at FreeDigitalPhotos.net.