Heart part 4
I've Ranted on this memory verse at length, but I don't think I can skip it in this Rant series. Its one of my favorites. "Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart" (Psalm 37:4). And, contrary to popular belief, or "conventional wisdom," I do not believe that this is an if-then statement. I do not believe that this is a paint by numbers to get what you want deal. Because love is never about getting. Because love IS giving. I believe this is God showing us HOW to experience the gift that we've been given. Because, if you really think about it (and remember that it is the thoughts of our heart that control us) you'll see that the Lord--Jesus, love--IS the desire of our heart! So to me the Bible is saying, "If you want to have what you have, you need to know what you have. If you want to experience what you've got, you've got to give what you've got." The enjoyment of love is in the giving of love. The reward is in the doing. Things are more real when they are shared. Letting what's inside come out--by knowing and believing that its in there--is how we experience and enjoy this gift we've been given. Think about a TV show, or a movie, or a book (if anybody besides me still reads). Watching that show, or that movie, or reading that book is great. But watching it WITH someone just takes it to another level. Talking to someone who has read that book, sharing the experience, man... that's powerful. Because that's love. Giving what you've got. Sharing your life, yourself, with the people IN your life. That's what this life is all about. That's what this life is for. So in order to RECEIVE the desire of our heart (which is love), we need to delight ourselves in the gift we've already been given (which is love!). Stop searching without and let what's isnide come out! The desire of our heart is IN our heart. In order to "get" it, or experience it, we need to just look within. Look to the Lord. You know, the God who IS love that lives in us. And here's the deal: We live from the inside out. Even when we don't think so, or realize it. Whatever you believe--even on the smallest level--is what you experience in your life. No love, no life. KNOW love, KNOW life! Knowing and believing the truth is so vitally important. Letting what's inside--what's really inside--come out by knowing and believing that its in there is the key, or the secret, to life. If you want God to "give" you the desire of your heart, you need to understand what that desire really is... and understand that He has already given it to us. You need to receive it and release it. Let what's inside come out. Did I already say that? Good. Repetition. If you want to feel love... give love. That's as simply as I can put it. Be the change you want to see in the world. Let YOUR light shine and see things as they really are. Don't always try to get, get, get. But shift your focus to being able to give, give, give. Freely you have received, freely give. Well, first things first you need to receive what you've been given. Receive it and release it. Receive it BY releasing it. Release it by receiving it. Let God love the hell out of you and use that love to love the hell out of people!