The Desires of Your Heart
In crowded ball room there were many well dressed ladies wearing ball gowns that gently swept the dance floor as they glided hand in hand with handsome suitors. The energy of the room came to match that of the music and it seemed as if the energy of the guests would never run out! The noise of bustling feet on the dance floor, busy waiters brining food to the many guests, and the roar of laughter filled the air.
But then, she appeared...
A young woman draped in a glimmering gown practically floated into the room. Her radiant smile and glowing face captured the attention of everyone who gazed upon her. Who was this strange beauty? Everyone froze in awe as she passed through the crowded ballroom.
The daring prince approached her and asked for her hand. When the breath-taking maiden placed her delicate hand in his they glided down through the room with such grace and elegance that a swan couldn't even match. The prince instantly fell in love with her and regarded her as more precious than all of the jewels in his crown. Then they lived happily ever after......*sigh*.
Our Hearts Desire
Once upon a time, when we were little girls these were the desires that we had in our hearts. To be loved and cherished by a prince and to feel incredibly beautiful.
As we grow older we may not dream of being a princess any more, but our desires still remain the same. We wish to be desired, cherished, valued, loved, and to feel and to be told that we are beautiful. Am I right?
Maybe you feel silly or childish for desiring to be as beautiful and loved as the princess were in the fairytales you remember reading. But I don't believe that those desires are silly at all. In fact, I believe that God was the one who put those desires in our hearts in the first place.
Desires Unfulfilled
A question that often comes up when I think of these desires is if God put these desires in our hearts than why do these desires cause us so much pain? Why our our wants going unfulfilled? Why don't I have a brave and noble man pursuing my heart and making me feel like the most beautiful girl on in the world?
To answer this question let's look at Psalm 37:4, "Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart."
You might be thinking, "OK, he hasn't met the desires of my heart....so God's a liar now too?" No, not at all! Read this verse again carefully paying attention to what the verse is saying. Now, according to the verse who will give you the desires of your heart? God will, of course!
But are we always relying on God to fulfill the desires of our hearts or are we taking matters into our own hands? Sadly, we don't usually rely on God. We wan't to take matters into our own hands. We want to feel loved and desired so we do things to draw the attention of boys or maybe one boy in particular. We want to feel beautiful and accepted so we try our best to lose weight, use products to help get rid of zits, wear appealing clothing as well as other things.
Recently I've noticed that many of my friends will determine their value based on the number of likes their picture has gotten on Facebook. To be honest, I have found myself doing that too.
And why do we do all of those things? Because we are trying to fulfill our desires. What's wrong with wanting those desires to be filled? Nothing. Actually I find that it's pretty normal for girls to want those desires to be filled. The problem is when we take matters into our own hands and try to fulfill our own desires. But have you ever noticed that getting 40 likes on your new profile picture on satisfies your desire to feel beautiful for a limited amount of time? Have you noticed that once one boy gives you attention it is only a matter of time before you want another boys attention as well?
All of our pursuits to feel loved, cherished, and beautiful only last a short time and, in the end, it leaves us feeling empty.
True Satisfaction
Attention, boys, beauty, clothes, losing weight, likes, popularity, makeup, and all of the things that you use to try to fulfill your heart's deepest desires have left you empty. You feel the exact opposite of beautiful and loved. Your dream of being the modern day Cinderella has been crushed. So much for Gods promise of giving me the desires of my heart.
Why is it that you feel empty, do you think? Was it because God didn't give you the desire of your heart? Or is it because you were trying to fulfill God's promises without Christ?
Crazy how we do that sometimes. We try to complete Gods promises without him.
What if we stopped looking to boys and popularity to fulfil our desires? Do you think that you would feel so empty if you looked towards God to fulfill them for you?
Your desire to feel valued and precious weren't meant to bring you closer to the world, they were meant to bring you closer to God. He is the one who supplies true satisfaction. He is the only one who can completely fill your heart. He will fill you up with his undying love for you and constantly remind you of how valuable you are to him. No one else, not even the most amazing boyfriend or husband in the world, could match the glorious and un-changing love that the Lord has for you.
Just look at the Bible. It's one huge love letter from God to you designed to bring you closer to him and his love. Inside your huge Valentines Day card are words of comfort, wisdom, instruction, and proclamations of his love for you. He created all of that just for you.
Seeking God
I need to confess something, I don't always feel beautiful or valuable. I don't. I know in my mind that I am but in my heart I don't always feel it. That is when I can start looking towards make up and the world to try to make me feel like I am important. Which, as you know, leaves me with emptiness.
So what do you do when you feel this way? Well personally, I pray. When I feel ugly and undesirable I pray to God for him to showcase his love for me and reveal to me my worth. And you know what? He always does. Sometimes he'll point out a passage in the Bible, or have a friend or family member point out to me my value, or he puts an article that I need to read right on the internet. His techniques for showing me his unfading love that he has for me may change but one thing never changes; he never leaves me empty.
When I seek him, I find him. "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." Jeremiah 29:13