A Misunderstood Verse

Psalm 37:4 Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

Part of my reading today was Psalm 35, 36, and 37. The above verse jumped out at me. I first heard this verse misused by a prominent lady in Independent Baptist circles. I was only about 16 at the time, and didn't even realize it was being misused. Since then, I've heard about a half dozen preachers misuse it, as well as several ladies. They didn't mean to misuse it at all! In fact, the way they used it made perfect sense to me!

In the years that have come and gone, I've tried to learn more about God's Word and theology in general. I'm certainly not up to par with my husband, who can seem to wrap his brain around truths that just leave me scratching my head. But, I'm learning, bit by bit, little by little, more about God's Word and His lessons therein for my life.

This verse was often interpreted to me to be saying, "If you delight yourself in the things of the Lord, He will give you those things which your heart desires." If you want a new car, He will bless you with one! If you want a friend, BAM! You got it! Want a new ______ (fill in the blank)? Then you will get it, if you're delighting in the things of the Lord. The inverse was also said to be true: if you aren't getting the desires of your heart, you are not delighting yourself in the Lord.

However, this verse isn't talking about my desires. My desires are fleshly, carnal. That doesn't mean they are bad, necessarily, but they stem from my sinful nature. After a bit of studying, we can see that this verse is saying "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires that you should have in your heart." He will show you what you should desire. He will give you a desire to know more about God's Word. He will make a part of you want to pray. He will prompt you to witness to that friend at work. He will make us want what He wants. Does that mean if you're wanting a new dress, and you faithfully serve the Lord and pray for one, that He won't give you that because it's a fleshly thing? No, I'm not saying that at all. God frequently blesses His children in very special ways with things that are not necessities of life. In fact, He often gives me tangible blessings even when I'm not faithfully serving and living for Him; even when I fail Him, He blesses me!

The ultimate blessing that a child of God can receive is a relationship with the Lord of hosts, the Creator of the universe! Think about it: He doesn't just save us, He wants to be our very best friend. He wants to talk to us and have us talk to Him. He wants to lead us, comfort us, protect us, and yes, even chasten us. He wants to give us joy, peace, love, and on and on I could go! No carnal blessing can come close to matching that!

To think that God cares about me and wants to show me what I should desire! It's better than a new car! I am of all people most unworthy. I fail Him everyday, yet I long to do better. I let Him down, I know I do, and yet He loves me and forgives me. He helps me get up and try again for Him. Why do I want to do better? Because He wants me to. I'm so thankful for the opportunity to walk with Him. I pray the Lord will help me to walk closer everyday.

Epic Fail

Rom. 7:18-19 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.


Rom.7:24-25 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord...


I recently saw a tee shirt that said "Epic Fail". It had an arrow that pointed to the right, presumably at whomever was standing there. Those words, "epic" and "fail" are widely used now days.

I cannot think of a better way to describe my Christian life at times: "Epic Fail." I seem to get caught up in the same sin over and over and over, like a hamster on a wheel. I know that I have a weakness. I pray about it. I read God's Word to get strength and wisdom to defeat it. Yet, in a momentary laps, I slip back, and into the same sin. I have no more tears to shed over it, I feel numb and hopeless. Why would God forgive me again? Why would He even want to help me? I keep failing. There's that word again, fail. That's me: Valerie, the epic failure.

I won't bother you with the details of my faults. I've been working on it for a while now, even going to the point of saying "Wow, I'm so glad I'm aware of this sin in my life. I won't do that again, now that I know!" HA! Famous last words. I don't do it intentionally, but then, I never have. Today, I read how Paul struggles with the same thing I do: failure. I read chapter 7 and 8 of Romans, searching for a way to cure myself of committing the same sin over and over. I wanted to find something like "If thou dwellest in the precepts of the Lord daily, thou wilt not sin." Or, "If thou produce meekness all the days of thy life, thou wilt be perfect." But, I didn't find those words. It appears to my very un-trained mind that the answer is this: keep going. When I fail, get up and go again. That's what Paul did. He died to his flesh and kept going for the Lord Jesus. Paul says in Rom.8:15 that we have been adopted and we can cry out "Abba, Father." That's a term of endearment. When I fail, I can cry out to my Heavenly Father. He forgives me, He picks me up, just like my earthly father would do. He comforts me, He corrects me, and He sends me back out to try again.

What a blessing it it to know that when my Heavenly Father looks at me, He doesn't see me for what I am, an epic failure. No, He sees the blood of Jesus upon my life. And Jesus never fails.

Dying to Self

John 12:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.

Please tell me I'm not the only one who is convicted by this verse. Just yesterday, I was dealing with a mini-crisis and I don't think I handled it well. Reading this verse today is a light-bulb moment for me - I think this is what was missing from my reaction - dying to self. How many of life's problems would vanish if we all died to self? I can't go into detail regarding my situation, but let's just say that I need to die to self in many areas of my life. Dead people don't get offended, they don't get puffed up with pride, they don't "mouth off", they don't gossip! Not only that, but when I die to myself, I'm allowing the Holy Spirit to control me, so I want to serve, I want to give, I want to love, I want to be merciful and on and on. That's what a seed does - the seed coat (picture of the flesh) dies and the life of the seed (the Holy Spirit) takes root in the soil (the Word of God) and the plant (us) bears fruit (the list is given in Gal. 5:22-23). 

But it all begins with death. Before you get all depressed, rest assured I'm not talking about physical death. Paul said, "I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me:and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." (Gal.2:20) It's death to our desires, and life to His.

I asked my husband "How can I ignore my flesh? I wish there was a button I could push that would automatically make me 'spiritual' ". He told me that it's not a supernatural thing that happens to the believer.  We can't pray and ask God to kill our flesh and be done with it. We must die to self by constantly choosing the spiritual over the fleshly. For instance, I didn't want to get up this morning. Thinking about reading my Bible and praying didn't exactly make me want to get up,either. I made myself get up, I made myself come read the Bible, and the God blessed me for my efforts by speaking to me through His Word. Most Sundays and Wednesdays, I don't want to go to church. I'm tired, I'd like to just put my feet up. But, I make myself go anyway, I never regret it! That's walking in the Spirit - doing what HE wants rather than what I want. But, it can get much more complicated than just going to church. It could mean giving up something I want to do, giving up my money or keeping my mouth shut when my flesh wants to give someone a piece of my mind. Those things, for me anyway, are harder than just going to church. Sometimes, I do want to do spiritual things, but often only because of some fleshly desire (I'll get to eat good food or I'll get to see my friends, etc). Dying to flesh is a daily - perhaps moment by moment - discipline. (Especially if you homeschool your children! haha!)

I'm pretty sure I'll be tested on dying to my flesh more than ever today, seeing as I just wrote this all out. So, if you think of me, please pray for me, that I will, in fact, die to self. I hate hypocrisy, I like real. I want to really be dead to self.

Heed His Warnings

In Luke 22, I read about Jesus praying in the Garden. He had just finished eating the last supper with His disciples, where he told Peter "Satan want to have you, to sift you as wheat." (paraphrase) Later, in the Garden, Jesus tells the disciples, "Why sleep ye? Rise and pray, lest ye enter into temptation." (Luke 22:46) If anyone should have been praying, it was Peter! Jesus had specifically told him that Satan wanted him. I don't know why Peter wasn't afraid of that prospect, of being used by Satan. Especially when Jesus, the Son of God, warned him! Perhaps Peter had grown used to Christ's presence in his life, and took Him for granted. Perhaps, he didn't have a real fear of Satan. Or maybe, he just couldn't fight his flesh. 

It's easy to grow cold in the Christian life. I don't want to be that way. I don't want to ignore warnings from the Lord, through His Word. If I'm being tempted, I want to hide behind God's Word, pray through the night, if necessary, and trust Him for the power to obey. It's often easier said than done. To live according to God's Word, I must fight my flesh, and my flesh is a powerful enemy.