Coming off my Desert Island

A few months ago, I shared how I felt like I was stranded on a desert island. My life felt so dry, as if the joy had been vacuumed out. I acknowledged that the reason for this was placing my hope in people and then being devastated when they continually let me down. It was at that point when I realized I had to reset my priorities and get back to seeking after Jesus as my source of hope and joy.

During this season, I learned a few things about God and myself. I learned that God doesn’t work through strong fist and heightened weaponry. God didn’t just pull me off my desert island and overflow my life overnight. However, slowly but surely, He changed my heart and the blessings came after that. We found a church community to join. He gave me a new excitement for His Word that I haven’t experienced in a long time. In showing me His great generosity, He has changed my perspective from seeing my possessions as things that must be guarded carefully to living life with a more open hand in both my stuff and my finances.
We often hear Psalm 37:4 quoted. “Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” I think that sometimes we want to flip the order of that around. A few months ago, I wanted God to give me the desires of my heart and then I felt I would delight myself in Him. During this season, He has showed me that the order of those phrases is imperative. I had to delight myself in God first, because when I did that, my desires shifted. Where I wanted to spend my free time relaxing and not being bothered, now I want to spend it serving Him in whatever way He would have me. 

God had to bring me to a place where my only option was delighting myself in Him. I was no longer finding delight in any other area of my life, so I simply had to turn to Him. As I mentioned, that delight didn't happen overnight. I had to put forth the effort, even when I didn't feel like it. I had to cast aside the lie our society tells us of, "Just do whatever feels right for you. If you don't enjoy it, don't do it." And now, I'm so grateful I did. I wake up excited to spend time in God's Word. I look forward to opportunities where I can show His love to others.

And guess what? When I delighted myself in the LORD, not only did my desires change, but I learned something. God delights to give His children the desires of their hearts when they are properly placed. So if you are on your lonely desert right now, be encouraged. God is ready to change that.

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