"Then I was senseless and ignorant;
I was like a beast before You.
Nevertheless I am continually with You;
You have taken hold of my right hand.
With Your counsel You will guide me,
And afterward receive me to glory.
Whom have I in heaven but You?
And besides You, I desire nothing on earth.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. "
{Psalm 73:22-26}
The past couple of weeks as I have been meditating in the Word, I now realize, I have let other desires creep into my heart, and God is not willing to share His place with anything other than Himself. I unknowingly created my own gods. Like Calvin said, my heart is an idol maker. Our nature is not to turn to the Lord, it is to turn to the world and to the culture to bow down to the gods of today. I didn't realize I was giving myself over to the god of the moment. It really is the god of foolishness. Being completely overwhelmed, I ended up being paralyzed from doing anything at all and left myself to be tossed by the waves of each day. When a light calm or break did arise or, I would attempt to open God's word, yet everything would faithfully come and distract me. That time was not my joy or delight because I had no room in my heart for its treasure. I sacrificed an unfailing treasure for demanding flesh. And it all started with my focus, my mind. When my focus turned to flesh, when my priorities became flesh oriented, when my desires revolved around my flesh, I left no room for treasuring God, even if I wanted to, because the flesh and the Spirit are in opposition to one another. (Gal. 5) Even when I tried to delight in God, it was in void because I had already opposed God in my heart. I was unable to say with the Psalmist, "And besides You [God], I desire nothing on earth" (Ps. 73)
God has planned out paths that he desires each of us to take. He has given us clarity to understand His guiding. He will be waiting for us. We have the choice to dismiss, misinterpret, or heed to the clues He has given to us. Sometimes, the path He has chosen for us doesn't make sense, or is difficult or even dark, yet we can trust that He has gone before us, and that He has a reason for having us take this certain route to Him. His grace and His strength is enough for you.
Don't let your flesh, your wicked, evil heart keep you from delighting in God. Be on your guard against every form of greed. There is a path He lovingly chose for you to follow. Don't miss it, it leads to the greatest treasure ever...God Himself.
I was like a beast before You.
Nevertheless I am continually with You;
You have taken hold of my right hand.
With Your counsel You will guide me,
And afterward receive me to glory.
Whom have I in heaven but You?
And besides You, I desire nothing on earth.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. "
{Psalm 73:22-26}
The past couple of weeks as I have been meditating in the Word, I now realize, I have let other desires creep into my heart, and God is not willing to share His place with anything other than Himself. I unknowingly created my own gods. Like Calvin said, my heart is an idol maker. Our nature is not to turn to the Lord, it is to turn to the world and to the culture to bow down to the gods of today. I didn't realize I was giving myself over to the god of the moment. It really is the god of foolishness. Being completely overwhelmed, I ended up being paralyzed from doing anything at all and left myself to be tossed by the waves of each day. When a light calm or break did arise or, I would attempt to open God's word, yet everything would faithfully come and distract me. That time was not my joy or delight because I had no room in my heart for its treasure. I sacrificed an unfailing treasure for demanding flesh. And it all started with my focus, my mind. When my focus turned to flesh, when my priorities became flesh oriented, when my desires revolved around my flesh, I left no room for treasuring God, even if I wanted to, because the flesh and the Spirit are in opposition to one another. (Gal. 5) Even when I tried to delight in God, it was in void because I had already opposed God in my heart. I was unable to say with the Psalmist, "And besides You [God], I desire nothing on earth" (Ps. 73)
God has planned out paths that he desires each of us to take. He has given us clarity to understand His guiding. He will be waiting for us. We have the choice to dismiss, misinterpret, or heed to the clues He has given to us. Sometimes, the path He has chosen for us doesn't make sense, or is difficult or even dark, yet we can trust that He has gone before us, and that He has a reason for having us take this certain route to Him. His grace and His strength is enough for you.
Don't let your flesh, your wicked, evil heart keep you from delighting in God. Be on your guard against every form of greed. There is a path He lovingly chose for you to follow. Don't miss it, it leads to the greatest treasure ever...God Himself.
