A Delightful Story

dear daughters,

Today I want to tell you a story. When I was about 17, almost 18, I heard a youth pastor talk about Psalm 37:4, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” It was the first time I felt like I really heard God speaking to me, somehow right to my heart through this pastor. The pastor said this Bible verse meant that if you found your happiness in God, instead of looking for happiness in the world, God would come into your heart and clean it up. Well, I knew I needed some things cleaned up. On the outside, I looked like a pretty good teen most of the time, but on the inside I had some desires, (urges to do things,) that I knew were not right. I didn’t put them there. But somehow they were there just the same. The pastor said these desires were sins, but because of Jesus, I could be forgiven for them and free from them. He said if I looked to God for my happiness, He would replace those wrong desires with His perfect ones, making me want the same good things in life that God wanted for me.

After that night, I couldn’t quit thinking about what the pastor said. I sure was tired of wanting things I knew were not right or best. And I was tired of acting on those desires, too. They usually didn’t lead to anything very good, and usually made me sad. So one day soon after, I asked God through Jesus to come into my heart and clean it up, and give me new desires that would make Him happy instead of me. And what happened? I became happier than ever! I figured out what it meant, to delight myself in God. It’s finding my happiness by seeking His happiness. And this is still what makes me happy today!

living to love, loving to live,
momma b