Hi friend!
It's been some time. I hope you are well, growing in the knowledge of Christ, letting God renew you day by day, and aiming to do all things with God, His way and for His glory!
Today happens to be my 33rd birthday and with it came this urge to write and show up in this space again. There are SO many exciting things coming--things I never imagined I would have the courage to do. But do you know what? When we simply give God our "yes", He enables us to do what He is asking us to do--He gives us courage and enCOURAGEs us through His Word and promises.
I will be announcing a big and exciting change before 2022 is over but for today one thing you will see shift in my blogposts is that I will start every post by laying a Biblical foundation. This will be called Strong In Spirit. Then at the end we tie it to our health journey with God. This will be called Healthy In Body. This also happens to be a preview of how the Wellness His Way Book (launching soon!) is laid out!
Ready? Let's jump in!
STRONG IN SPIRIT
I invite you to open up Psalm 37 and read it first then meet me back here. As I am meditating on the last 33 years of my life and praying over whatever time God has left for me on this earth, what I keep coming back is this statement: delight in the Lord. Throughout the Psalm, David is calling us UP away from fret and toward trusting in the Lord.
More than anything, I want my faith to increase this year and I want to fret less and trust God more. Back to Psalm 33...In the first 8 verses alone, David uses the verb “fret” 3 times and shows us how to overcome fret:
>>By remembering evil’s final fate.
>>By trusting in the Lord.
>>By doing good.
>>By cultivating faithfulness.
>>By committing our way to the Lord.
>>By resting in the Lord.
>>By waiting patiently for Him.
>>By delighting ourselves in Him.
Delighting in the Lord is the answer to both our fret/worries and the fulfillment of our desires. Delight means to find enjoyment—fulfillment, captivation, satisfaction—in Christ. Delighting in God is not meant to be something we do with drudgery but with joy!
So how do we fan this delight into flame? The truth is, we can’t...but God can. God is working in you and in me to give us the desire and the power to do what pleases Him!
There is both a responsibility on our end to be available and want this delight and we must depend on God for this delight to increase. The Holy Spirit alone can stir in our hearts this desire and give us the supernatural power to delight in the Lord.
As A.W. Tozer said "We pursue God because, and only because, He has first put an urge within us that spurs us to the pursuit (and) when the Holy Spirit shows us God as He is we admire Him to the point of wonder and delight.”
Delighting in the Lord is something we must choose, actively pursue and show up to build
remembering that the Holy Spirit increases it in us. Friend, we get to commune with our King, Savior and Creator! May that truth never grow old in our hearts!
What’s also amazing is not just that we can delight in the Lord but that HE takes delight in US! Never forget that. He loves you. He loves to hear your voice. He loves to draw near to you. Take a step toward Him today and ask Him to open your eyes to His glory!
Join me today in asking the Holy Spirit to revive your heart according to His Word so that, like Jeremiah you can say, “When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear your name, Lord God Almighty (Jeremiah15:16).
HEALTHY IN BODY
Jesus changes everything. This includes how you care for the body you have. How does delighting in the Lord shift how you steward your health? I have personally learned that the more I love Him, the more I want to joyfully care for what He has given me. I have also learned that when I am focused on remembering and loving who God is, spending time with Him, and ensuring your full satisfaction comes from Him alone, my body takes it proper place, which is under Him.
If you're finding that one of the major sources of fret in your life is connected to your health, I encourage you to go to Jesus and talk to Him about it. A few questions to consider:
Where can you trust God more in your health?
What would it look like to commit your plans and health goals to Him?
Is there something you have been selfishly striving for and you're ready to humbly surrender it to Him?
Is there an area in your health He is inviting you to wait patiently on Him?
I hope these questions become great starting points in your conversation with God. What He wants first and foremost is your heart. May you grow in your love for Him, your delight in Him, and your faith in Him. He will change everything and how you do everything.
Rooting for you!
