Abracadabra!

Abracadabra!

Bible Blast: Read Psalm 37:1-5

Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you your heart’s desires. Psalm 37:4

The story of Aladdin and the magic lamp is fun to think about, isn’t it? A poor boy living on the streets finds a magic lamp. When he rubs it, a genie pops out and offers him three wishes. When I was a kid, I probably would have wished for my own horse, all the gold in the world, and maybe a trip to the moon. Now, I would probably wish that all the children in Africa would be healthy and have loving families or that my dog, Stormie, would be able to talk. I guess my wishes have changed since I was a kid.

You know, I used to think the promise in Psalm 37:4 that God would give me my heart’s desire meant that God is like a magic genie in a lamp—as if just by saying the right words or doing the right things then he’d give me a new car or a fabulous vacation in the Caribbean. But it didn’t take long to figure out that’s not how God works.

Delighting yourself in the Lord means being totally caught up in his love, and wanting nothing but just that. When you live a life of delighting in him, several things happen. You talk about him whenever you can. You become more like him. You hate what he hates—like unkindness or television shows that are bad for you—and begin to avoid that stuff. You take advantage of any opportunity to worship and praise him. Most important, you begin to want what he wants. When you delight in God, your desires change. You don’t become consumed with all the “stuff” that you want. Your heart is filled with brand new desires—God’s desires.

God’s desires are revealed to you in many different ways, but the Bible is the easiest place to find them. In the Bible you learn to love God with everything you have within you and to treat those around you the way you’d want to be treated (see Matthew 22:37-40). And that’s not the only thing you can learn from digging into God’s Word. Read it whenever you can, and ask God to change your heart to want the same things he wants.

Girl Gab: If you were granted three wishes, what would each of you wish for? What godly desires do you have in your heart? Pray for each other’s desires today.