1
Christian / Re: Devotions
« Last post by Pip on Today at 04:40:52 PM »https://proverbs31.org/read/devotions/full-post/2024/12/30/how-do-i-know-its-gods-will?utm_campaign=Daily%20Devotions&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_jyorh_dUR9nfsR-cEs-bjV_qFvXqEbrjnPbxunHtdqUi8HMpNgh7Yc1L0BVDMgHU6gP2IVs7gkgytIB2-ciXSLIF9kw&_hsmi=338896053&utm_content=338896053&utm_source=hs_email#disqus_thread
How Do I Know It’s God’s Will?
December 30, 2024
by Abby McDonald
“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, But desire fulfilled is a tree of life.” Proverbs 13:12 (NASB)
I could hear the apprehension in my friend’s voice. “How do I know it’s God’s will?” she asked.
Her question was one I’d wrestled with many times. We had been discussing an aspiration she’d had for months, and I heard her passion and desire to share God’s love with others. I knew she wanted to move forward, but she hesitated. So I responded, “Well, why wouldn’t this be God’s will?”
She sat there for a moment, considering my words. “That’s a great question,” she said. “I don’t know.”
I understood my friend’s hesitation because I’ve lived it I often don’t trust my own desires. After all, doesn’t Jeremiah 17:9 warn us that the human heart is deceitful?
It’s easy to forget that when we follow Jesus, He transforms our hearts. The more we spend time with Him and study His Word, the more He reshapes our desires. While our motivations will never be completely faultless in this life, God equips us to discern His will and His voice. In fact, our desires are one of the ways God leads us. Proverbs describes the beautiful outcome of a desire fulfilled:
“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, But desire fulfilled is a tree of life” (Proverbs 13:12).
In the original Hebrew language, the word for “desire” used here is taavah. Do you know where else this word is used?
In Genesis, before Eve ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. “When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight [taavah] to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate ....” (Genesis 3:6, NASB).
So what causes some desires to lead to life and others to spiritual death?
Our desire will always follow our delight. When we delight ourselves in the Lord, our desires will follow (Psalm 37:4). But if something else takes precedence, our desires like Eve’s will be misguided. God’s will is for us to seek Him first. When we do, our desires can become thriving trees of life, bearing good fruit and displaying His love for others to witness. Friend, I don’t know what desires and dreams you’ve kept buried, hidden from God out of fear of what may happen if you share them but can I tell you something?
God’s will is for you to share all of you with all of Him. His will is for you to confide in Him dreams, desires and ambitions. And as you do, He will bring forth new life.
How Do I Know It’s God’s Will?
December 30, 2024
by Abby McDonald
“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, But desire fulfilled is a tree of life.” Proverbs 13:12 (NASB)
I could hear the apprehension in my friend’s voice. “How do I know it’s God’s will?” she asked.
Her question was one I’d wrestled with many times. We had been discussing an aspiration she’d had for months, and I heard her passion and desire to share God’s love with others. I knew she wanted to move forward, but she hesitated. So I responded, “Well, why wouldn’t this be God’s will?”
She sat there for a moment, considering my words. “That’s a great question,” she said. “I don’t know.”
I understood my friend’s hesitation because I’ve lived it I often don’t trust my own desires. After all, doesn’t Jeremiah 17:9 warn us that the human heart is deceitful?
It’s easy to forget that when we follow Jesus, He transforms our hearts. The more we spend time with Him and study His Word, the more He reshapes our desires. While our motivations will never be completely faultless in this life, God equips us to discern His will and His voice. In fact, our desires are one of the ways God leads us. Proverbs describes the beautiful outcome of a desire fulfilled:
“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, But desire fulfilled is a tree of life” (Proverbs 13:12).
In the original Hebrew language, the word for “desire” used here is taavah. Do you know where else this word is used?
In Genesis, before Eve ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. “When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight [taavah] to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate ....” (Genesis 3:6, NASB).
So what causes some desires to lead to life and others to spiritual death?
Our desire will always follow our delight. When we delight ourselves in the Lord, our desires will follow (Psalm 37:4). But if something else takes precedence, our desires like Eve’s will be misguided. God’s will is for us to seek Him first. When we do, our desires can become thriving trees of life, bearing good fruit and displaying His love for others to witness. Friend, I don’t know what desires and dreams you’ve kept buried, hidden from God out of fear of what may happen if you share them but can I tell you something?
God’s will is for you to share all of you with all of Him. His will is for you to confide in Him dreams, desires and ambitions. And as you do, He will bring forth new life.
Recent Posts
niz 
Ouroboros and Deppratry