Sweetest and Most Loved...

One of the sweetest and most loved Bible verses….

“Delight yourself also in the LORD,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart.”
Psalm 37:4

The deal is…Jesus gently draws us into this promise and draws us to Himself …KNOWING…we will fall head over heels in love with Him… And, He knows…that the things, people, positions…you know…all that we think we desire…can often be…

…so less than…His desires for us.

In our broken state, we would often never even dream His dreams for us.  He has an over-the-top, beyond-reason destiny for us to experience and fulfill. And yet…through the messed-up lens of our lives…before His transforming work…the desires of our heart are often so miserably pitiful compared to what He has in store.
 
For instance…a person has to be set free from fear and insecurity…before dreaming big dreams. Only Jesus can truly set free. A person has to become safe in His love…before they will dare to love with abandon. Someone needs liberty from the oppression of guilt…before they can raise their head to walk in all the Holy Spirit has….you get the idea…so…

Fall...for Him

His desires for are so much greater… far beyond what we could imagine or think.
Is. 64:4 

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photo: Smitten Studios

Abba, Daddy...

A couple of years ago I had the privilege to share at women's retreat in Wisconsin. Many wonderful things took place at the retreat by God's gracious hand and power, but one sweet memory comes back to me today...

I met a lovely, sweetheart of a young woman, maybe nineteen years of age and she had a sad, but ultimately heartwarming story that she generously shared with me.

Long story, short...her parents had passed away into the Lord's presence; one parent at an early age, and another at around her age of seventeen. Though she was now past the age of eighteen, the Christian family she had been living with legally adopted her as her own, even though she was grown and they themselves still had growing children. This beautiful young adult positively glowed with happiness that she had been "chosen"... that...she belonged to someone...

"For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father." The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God"
Romans 8:15-16

I had just been reading these verses and felt led of the Lord to share them with her...she drank in the words slowly...her heart filling with His presence...as she realized how miraculous and marvelous the Lord Jesus is to have...also adopted...her...because of love alone.

Abba Daddy...

The sight of her opening her Bible, propping it up on her knees as she poured over these words in the then empty auditorium...moved my heart. She lingered in these beloved verses from Romans which proceed to proclaim that we are joint-heirs with Christ as we partake of His sufferings and His glory...

She understood the cost and the choice of adoption. She understood the sacrifice of the benevolent, love beyond reason decision to make us His own... and, that warms my heart in this moment, once again. I hope it does yours...

photo: Bret Cole Photography