In Psalm 37 David says “Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart.” King Solomon says: “what the wicked fears will come upon him, but the desire of the righteous will be granted.” Isaiah says it this way: “And the Lord will continually guide you, and satisfy your desire in a scorched land.” In the second century Saint Irenaeus wrote this: “The glory of God is man fully alive.”
Our Heavenly Father is the Creator and Giver of every perfect gift; gifts that could be described as the talents, attributes, and personality traits unique to each of His children. He delights in observing our growth in these talents. Not for the attainment of fame or fortune, as that focus gives opportunity for the dark areas of our souls to be fed, but for sheer pleasure of taking a gift bestowed on us by God and returning it to Him. This He delights in.
What father would not love to see his son or daughter win the championship sports game. I believe it is the same with our heavenly Father. He desires us to reach glory with His gifts so we can share in it together with Him.
The thief of our souls is vehemently opposed to this. He will distract or convince us that seeking excellence is bringing glory to ourselves or most insidious of all, lead us to counterfeits, occupations, or activities that seem to fill us with life but in reality only distract us from the genuine gifts our heavenly Father had placed within us.
Is there anything you used to deeply love but have not undertaken in a significant period of time?
Take it up again. A number of interest probably fit that description, but I suggest you start with the one that came to mind first. It is likely the one that needs releasing in greatest measure.
The truth is that there are so many things that are stealing our attention from these gifts, from the things that we deeply love, that God has given us the desire in our hearts to love.
Paul talks about strongholds on his epistles. A stronghold is anything that keeps us from the freedom of being in Christ Jesus.
The Gospel of John tells us if we know the Son we shall be free indeed. The apostle Paul says it was for freedom’s sake that Christ set us free. He didn’t’ set us free for duty or obligation but for freedom itself. This is indeed a staggering and amazing though. With that in mind, we must as what the stronghold are that Jesus wants to set us free from.
The answer is not overly complex. They are anything we’ve given room to in our lives in an attempt to cover up our wounds from the past; be they from friends, family, coaches, teachers, or parents.
If we do not face the wound, we will fabricate a variety of other interest to dull the pain and thus bury it. The relentless pursuit of money, the quest for fame, the approval of men, drug abuse, illicit sexual relations, movies of degrading nature, even and addiction to food. The list is long, but the reason is always the same.
We try to forgive those who wound us, but this only deals with the symptoms. The wound remains like a field of dandelions with their tips cut off. No, we must always go after the root of the tree and remove it completely so there is no opportunity for the stronghold to return. Only then can we truly forgive.
I pray the you have the strength to go to the root.
HIS and yours,
Cami
P.S.
Psalm 51:6: “Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being, and in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom.”
-most of these thoughts come from James L. Rubart's book Rooms.
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