Life verse

“Delight yourself in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart.” - Psalms 37: 4

Last summer, my buddies and I planned a hiking trip. It was the first time that we have really gotten to hang out because we all go to different schools so we were pretty excited about it. When the day arrived to set out on this incredible journey, we were all decked out in the latest outdoor attire. One of my friends had even bought a brand new Oakley’s and a GPS receiver. I had on some brand new tennis shoes that I bought at Wal-Mart… After we packed bags and filled up our water bottles, we set out to conquer the treacherous terrain of Pinnacle Mountain. Trying to make things more challenging, we decided to find another way to get to the top instead of following the trail… Needless to say, we got hopelessly lost after about an hour of hiking. Every tree looks the same and there were no trail markers in sight. We had the GPS, so we could have went back to our vehicles and forget about the hike but we all agreed that we wanted to keep going. As we were sitting around trying to figure out how to continue, somebody suggested that if we just keep going up, we will eventually reach the top. In a moment of panic and hopelessness, somebody said something that made perfect sense! An hour later, we stood victoriously on the top of the mountain.

I said all that to say this,

If there was ever a time where I was hopelessly lost spiritually was when I was at church camp about 4 years ago. Not lost in sin (I was already saved), but lost directionally. I know what is right or wrong, but I didn’t know right from left. I was clueless on what God wants to do with my life. I have felt like God is calling me into the ministry for a while then but I didn’t know whether that is just an emotion or the real deal. I asked my pastor and my youth pastor for some advice and I also talked to a friend of mine who has surrendered to the ministry a couple of months before. I seek counsel from a bunch of people but if you have ever been in the same situation, you know what they are going to say:

You will know when you know…

That was no help at all. I was still stressed out. I had absolutely no idea what to do. At that moment (this should’ve been the first thing I did), I became honest with God. I threw it all out there and I told Him everything. This was the day I first came across Psalms 37: 4. In a moment of confusion and uncertainty, God said something that made perfect sense, “Delight in ME and I will give you the desires of your heart.” It felt as if God told me to just worry about Him, and He will take care of everything else. Matthew said it this way, “Seek first the Kingdom of God and all these things will be added unto you (Matthew 6: 33).” That week at camp, I surrendered to the ministry. Turns out you will know when you know.

Even now, there are still many uncertainties in my life. If you know me, I tend to freak out if I don’t know something. I hate being kept in suspense. Sometimes it feels as if God would make me forget something just so that I will learn to trust in Him! But every time, I will go back to this one verse. It reminds me that God has everything under control. I also remind me that when I do not know what to do, I should do what I know to do. I should excel in the revealed things (Deuteronomy 29: 29); pray without ceasing, encourage the faint hearted, help the weak, flee from sexual immorality, rejoice always, give thanks in all circumstances, etc… A group of people in the book of Isaiah will say it this way, “Yes Lord, walking in the way of your truth we wait for you. Your name and Your renown is the desire of our hearts (Isaiah 26: 8).” Even though they did not how everything is going to turn out, their goal in life is to

Know God and to make Him known.

I have to admit that the first time I read my life verse, I was rather selfish. My mindset was that if I seek after God, I will get what I want. However, the more I study and apply Psalms 37: 4 in my life, I began to realize my desires are starting to look like God’s desires. It makes perfect sense. After all, if we chase after God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength, what we want will eventually become what He wants.

And what He wants, He will get.

“Delight yourself in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart.” - Psalms 37: 4