“Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He will give you the desires and secret petitions of your heart.” (Psalm 37:4, AMP)
In the Psalms, it talks about the secret petitions of our heart. These are the hidden dreams that you haven’t told anybody about. One way you know they’re from God is that they’re so big you cannot accomplish them on your own. God does this on purpose so that it will take faith. Faith is what pleases God. Faith is what allows Him to do the impossible. So God will put something big before you where you don’t have all the talent, the education, the connections or the confidence. God will even allow certain obstacles that we can’t overcome on our own.
Today, if you’ve been believing God for something that seems like it’s taking a long time, don’t give up! Remember, God knows exactly where you are. He knows the desires He’s placed within you. He’s working things together for your good. He’s promised to finish what He started, and as you delight yourself in Him, He will give you the desires and secret petitions of your heart!
Ten Daily Reminders
1. Show gratitude daily. Look at the world with wide-eyed wonder and appreciate the places where goodness and grace abound. Bundle words of thanks as a gift to those you love. Offer a song of praise in both the easy and hard places. (Colossians 3:17)
2. Be honest. Know your weaknesses and trust God to bridge the gaps. Recognize your gifts and talents, not your own ability. Be eager to receive in love when truth is spoken to you. Wrap the feedback you give in tenderness. (Colossians 3:9-10)
3. Take responsibility. Look in the mirror, not out of the window when things go wrong. Be quick to apologize and seek forgiveness. Own what do and do well what you own. (2 Peter 1:10)
4. Choose contentment. Focus on where you are right now and be anxious for nothing. Carry the burden for those that have less and celebrate those that have more. Accept that the season you are in as exactly where God wants you to be. (Philippians 4:6-7)
5. Affirm others. Share the good you see in others that they may not be able to see in themselves. Value people and let them know they matter to you. Create new possibilities and always believe the best. (Philippians 1:3,27)
6. Move in quiet confidence. Embrace the mercy and grace allotted for you each day, and then give them both away. Know there’s not a mistake you can make that God hasn’t already covered. Remember that same grace covers your neighbor, too.(Isaiah 43:2)
7. Be forgiving. Forgive offenses as soon as they happen. Expect nothing and give everything, no matter how much the world thinks you’ve been wronged. Strive to understand before you’re understood. (Colossians 3:13)
8. Live to serve. Be quick to help, even when it’s not convenient. Offer your best to improve someone’s ideas or situation and ‘gift’ him or her the credit for it. Make following first be the way you lead. Do everything you do all for Him. (Colossians 3:23,24)
9. Be teachable. Keep your heart wide open. Admit what you don’t know and allow people to pour into your life. Let all you learn bless and be a blessing to others. (Jeremiah 33:3)
10. Extend kindness. Approach each day with gentleness and generousity. Find unexpected ways to surprise and bring delight. Give in secret what only you can give. (Romans 12:10,11,13)
God wants to empower and strengthen you to overcome every obstacle in this life. He wants to give you confidence, wisdom and boldness to pursue the dreams and desires in your heart. He wants to give you supernatural insight so that you can be a witness of His goodness. In scripture, Peter and John were supernaturally equipped. Everyone around them marveled at their boldness, at their ability. They knew Peter and John didn’t have any formal training. They knew there wasn’t anything special about them. This power and wisdom could have only come from one place—the presence of Jesus.
Friend, when you spend time with Jesus, people will see it. You’ll be energized by His anointing and equipped by His grace. That’s why it’s so important to take time every day to be in His presence. No matter where you are on this earth, His presence is only a prayer away. Scripture says He is near to all who call upon His name. It says that He inhabits the praises of His people. Make your relationship with Him your number one priority and be empowered by His presence each and every day!
Every year all over the world, people honor Good Friday as the day Jesus was crucified. It was the darkest, most painful, discouraging day of His life. To others, it looked as if it was over. It looked as if His enemies had gotten the best of Him. But God had other plans. Jesus’ enemies put Him in the grave on Friday, celebrating their victory, but Sunday morning was a different story. The grave could not hold Him. Death couldn’t contain Him. The forces of darkness couldn’t stop Him. On the third day, Jesus came out of the grave and said, “I was dead, but now I am alive forevermore.”
One principle that the resurrection teaches us is that God will always finish what He started. No matter how dark it looks, no matter how long it’s been, no matter how many people are trying to push you down; if you will stay in faith, God will always take you from Friday to Sunday. You will see your day of breakthrough because God will complete what He started.
If you are going through a dark time today, remember that your day of resurrection, your “Sunday,” is on the way! Keep standing, keep believing because soon you will rise up and embrace the victory He has in store for you!