A few weeks ago I was chatting with Richard in the office about walking in the hills. He mentioned a time when he’d seen a cloud inversion (when the clouds are below you as a blanket with just the peaks of the hills poking through like islands). I said I’d been walking for 25 years and never seen one, but would love to. A week later I was climbing Pavey Ark with my family in the Lake District. It’s one of our favourite hills and we’ve climbed it many times. We always enjoy the climb, but this time was special because we experienced a cloud inversion for the first time! Psalm 37:4 says, “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” I never asked the Lord to see a cloud inversion, He’d just overheard me telling a friend about it and made it happen for me!
I’ve experienced this kind of favour many times and it always blesses me to know how much our Father loves to give us our hearts’ desires. There’s a confidence that comes from knowing we don’t have to pray for everything, that we’re not in danger of missing out if we don’t remember to pray specifically for all we desire. Of course, praying and talking to God about what we’re hoping for is a good habit to form, but it’s good to know it’s not a legal thing with Him. Like any good friend, He notices what delights us and loves to see us joyfilled.
Sometimes we have to wait years to see our desires fulfilled, like when Sadie & I wanted children. We prayed, waited and were prayed for over a number of years. Then one Sunday morning in Marlow, three ladies came up to us at separate times and gave us the same message, “The Lord is giving you your hearts’ desire”. Within two weeks Sadie fell pregnant and Rachel was born in due time.
When they were with us this week, Shampa & Jonathan Rice (Iris Ministries India) told us of the time they were launching their ministry in India and seeking to build a school. They had quotes of £12,000 to build a high wall around a plot of land to keep the children safe. They wondered how they would ever afford it, but at that time a visitor from England came through and had a sum of money to give to a building project… £12,000!
We could twist this into a self-serving ‘name it and claim it’ gospel, but in reality it’s quite different. The motivation of the latter is self-fulfillment and the focus on what we will get. Whereas our motivation must be ‘Kingdom come’ and our focus on delighting ourselves in Him. That’s what Jesus meant when He said, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Matthew 6:33.
So how do we know if we’re delighting ourselves in the Lord, and how can we grow in that? Well, trusting our feelings can be dangerous as our hearts can be deceptive. The fruits of delighting in God are seen in how we spend our time, our energy and our money. Do we spend our time in gratitude or complaining? Do we exhaust ourselves with work or do we always have enough energy to love those around us? Do we have good intentions to give once we’re financially more stable and if the gift is deserved, or do we give freely & generously from what we receive each month? All these things flow from our perception of God. The greater the revelation we have of His goodness and kindness, the more our hearts will be motivated to seek Him and delight ourselves in Him. That’s one of the reasons the Ignite course is so good, it’s designed to help us know our Father God better.
If you’re hungry to grow, I recommend you consider signing up to either the daytime or the evening Ignite course starting September (see www.riverchurch.org.uk/ignite for details).
