Cultivation

As a hart longs for flowing streams, so longs my soul for thee – Psalm 42:1

Wow!!! This is the kind desire that the Lord has for His people. He wants them and hungers for them. He loves them enough to move mountains in their lives daily.

Recently in my life, the Lord has really been working with me about owning my emotions. Since high school, my motto has been, “Be joyful always”- 1 Thessalonians 5:16. With that I feel like I trapped myself into feeling a responsibility to bring joy to others all the time, which meant (to me) that when I was upset to just slap on a happy face and not address my feelings. Lately, I have realized that the emotions that I have are godly—jealousy, anger, happiness—whatever it is, I was created in His image (Genesis 1:27) and the feelings are natural. Here’s the catch: I must, must, must give those emotions to the Lord. With those feelings in His hands, He will refine me, mold me, and use me (Jeremiah 18:6). Also, the joy referred to in this verse isn’t a fleeing thing; this joy—true joy— only comes from the Lord. Joy doesn’t mean that I won’t experience heartache, it means that with that heartache I still have my ultimate satisfaction in Him, the peace to carry on, and the freedom to enjoy life with His spirit dwelling within me.

In addition, He loves me enough to want to have an active role in my life by giving me the desires of my heart( Psalm 37:4-5) and fulfilling His plan for my life (Jeremiah 29:11). It continues to amaze me that He loves me, not because I am valuable, but because He is gracious. And He is never lukewarm about loving me; He is passionately pursuing me daily…beckoning me and encouraging me to choose Him. I love that He loves me when I am a mess. He has designed me to be a woman, full of emotions, however He wants to be the Lord of my emotions just like all the other facets of my life. When I surrender my feelings, desires, and emotions to Him, He always cultivates them into something of grandeur and beauty.

God is soooo good! Praise Him!

Definitions:

Hart: male deer

Fleeing: to run away from

Refine: to bring to a fine or a pure state; free from impurities

Satisfaction: a) the fulfillment or gratification of a desire, a need, or an appetite b) the pleasure or contentment that is derived from such gratification

Cultivates: to promote or improve the growth of by labor and attention

Grandeur: magnificence; splendor