Daily Devotional for June 8, 2010

June 8 ~ Psalm 37:4
Do what the LORD wants, and he will give you your heart's desire.

Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.

Have you ever felt you were supposed to do something, but you really didn’t want to do it? Maybe school seemed too hard or your job was unfulfilling, and you were tempted to quit - but you knew that this was where God wanted you to be for the moment. Or maybe you had your entire weekend mapped out – fun on the lake, meals with friends, and more… but your youth group or Sunday School class was having a prayer vigil at the church. And as much as you didn’t want to go, you knew you should. Or maybe you had some extra change in your pocket and a big, cold drink from Sonic sounded good - but as you left Wal-Mart, the Salvation Army guy was ringing his bell and asking for donations. In each case, if you gave up your desires to do what you felt GOD wanted you to do, how did you feel? Didn’t you feel better afterward?

More than this, have you ever chosen what you felt GOD wanted over what you wanted, then experienced amazing blessings later that seemed inexplicable? I can tell you that this has happened to me. More than once, I have dragged myself to something I didn’t want to attend, and I ended up being incredibly blessed. There have been times I really wanted to do something for myself – or to give up on a project when I became discouraged - but I felt God saying, “Do this anyway,” and the outcome was amazing. Somehow, when we do what God wants, He gives us time to do what we want, too. Maybe it’s not the same day… but eventually we get that day on the lake with friends or family. Eventually we get the big drink at Sonic and the time for ourselves - and blessings we didn’t even anticipate or expect.

When we keep GOD at the forefront and do what He wants first, wonderful things happen. He really does give us our heart’s desire – according to His will. This means that just because you want a silver BMW, dont expect God to give you one because you do what He wants. You may never be a millionaire or live a fancy lifestyle. But whatever God chooses to give you – however He elects to bless – will be perfect for you. Try it for yourself. Do what God wants, out of a spirit of love, obedience and gratitude… and watch what happens!

©2010 Debbie Robus