WATCHWORD:
4 Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4
13 No, dear brothers, I am still not all I should be, but I am bringing all my energies to bear on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, 14 I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God is calling us up to heaven because of what Christ Jesus did for us. Philippians 3:13-14 TLB
Meditation:
Joy or Desire – Which Is It?
Desires of your heart. What are the desires of your heart? Do they have anything to do with material things; wealth, friends, recognition? If an Angel (A Geni) suddenly stood before you and granted three wishes, what would they be? Would those choices reveal the hidden recesses of your heart, maybe counter to delighting the Lord?
In today’s world, what is the meaning of desire? I think too often we equate it with an element of intimacy. Do we confuse it with lust? Or, perhaps, greed. In truth, the spiritual intent of the word desire was more in line with interior prayer, our mind on His Spirit.
In the hymn, Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring, the word has a clearer meaning. The music is Bach’s. The words were added by Martin Janus in 1661, to express a close, friendly, and familiar relationship with Jesus. Isn’t that what we aspire to in our prayerful conversations with Jesus?
Jesu, joy of man’s desiring,
Holy wisdom, love most bright;
Drawn by Thee, our souls aspiring
Soar to uncreated light.
Through the way where hope is guiding,
Hark, what peaceful music rings;
Where the flock, in thee confiding,
Drink of joy from deathless springs.
We may not fully understand the meaning of “uncreated light”, but the message of the hymn is a poetic declaration of all that Christ means to a Christian. So, do the words summarize what Christ means to you? Is He joy, wisdom, love, truth, hope? There does seem to be a longing for the world to come when we will be at peace.
Is that the nature of your relationship with Jesus? You know, close, friendly and familiar? There is a saying that goes something like this: As your thinking goes, so goes your entire being. That point is addressed in a recent Jesus Calling devotional: “Let me be your positive focus. When you look to Me, knowing Me as God with you, you experience joy. I planted that longing in human souls, knowing that only I could fully satisfy it.
Jesus is saying, surrender yourself. Delight yourself in Me; let Me become the Desire of your heart. Only then, will the peace of the Lord fill our hearts. Amen.
Bulletin Board:
In the cutest voice, my 8-year-old daughter asked me to start recycling. I chuckled and asked, “Why?” She replied, “So you can help me save the planet.” I chuckled again and asked, “And why do you want to save the planet?” “Because that’s where I keep all my stuff,” she said. (Short story from a friend.)
Closing Prayer:
My Father, You created me out of joy. When You made me, You said that I am perfect. You made me to live a prosperous life, full of happiness and peace. Abba Father, as long as I am on this earth, I know adversities will come my way. But I ask that You help me to rest in You. I know that You are in control. Help me to have that joy and peace in my life so I will be able to smile through any storm confident that I will come out stronger for it. Help me not to look at my adversities but to look directly at You. Father, I pray that You fill me with the joy of the Lord, that overwhelming joy. Your joy is unlike anything this world has to offer. It brings peace, trust and hope and with that a rest because I know You are in control. It’s in your name I pray. Amen.
