Trust in the LORD, and do good;
dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.
Delight yourself in the LORD,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Psalms 37:3-4
Losing Direction and Leaving
When I was growing up I went to church and read my Bible often. I was heavily involved in my church’s youth group in my teens and in college. I even took some pre-seminary courses which included learning Biblical Greek and Hebrew, translating parts of the Bible from those languages into English.
All the while, I thought I was getting closer to God. But in fact, I was not. Despite my studies, I could never really understand the Bible or how God worked. That led me to eventually leave church, religion, and God altogether.
After that, for a long time I struggled with a lot of personal issues whether it was finances, relationships, self-esteem, and religious/spiritual matters. During those times, I wasn’t too involved in religion or just practicing on my own without any direction. I was relying on myself instead of God, and it showed.
Nothing seemed to work out in my life and the things I was doing didn’t seem fulfilling. It was so incredibly frustrating. I often felt pretty low and tried to find comfort in food, drink, or other things. And I usually felt worse afterward.
Finding Delight in the Lord Again
Years later, I found myself studying the Bible again. This time, though, I could truly understand the Bible and God’s plan. The difference was that things were being explained clearly using only the Bible. I didn’t need to look at supplementary texts or other kinds of books anymore. I was taught how to piece the Bible together and connect the major events from Genesis to Revelation, and how to see God working through it all.
My perspective shifted – to looking at the Bible as God’s Word written by Him rather than written by men. Through this, I was able to build an authentic faith and actually trust God like He asks us to. Now I am able to believe in God’s promises and in their fulfillment because I know what has been promised and what to look for.
Delight Yourself in the Lord and He Will Transform You
This understanding of the Word also changed me as a person. I began to get better control over my bad habits and change how I viewed God and myself. However, I’m still working at it every day. I still make mistakes, but I’m trying to get better at living the life of faith that Christ called me to.
The verses above remind me of Who to seek first when things get hard along this path. These verses say that “the Lord will give you the desires of your heart”. Does that mean you will get all physical and material things you want?
In Matthew 6, Jesus talks about how we should not worry about our physical needs and desires, for the worldly people worry about those. Instead he says to seek first God’s kingdom and righteousness and God will care for our needs (Matthew 6:33).
I pray you are able to reflect on your own life of faith as you read these verses. I pray you can build faith and trust in God based on knowledge and understanding of His word, because when you do that, God will take care of your spiritual and physical needs.
Written by Kenny
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