Want.

A friend of mine gave me an incomplete puzzle the other day. At the bottom of it, she had written Romans 8:28- "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." She then handed me a piece with a heart drawn on it, but it didn't fit. Only when she gave me a piece with "God" written on it, did my piece fit in and complete the puzzle.

I think often times we hear Psalm 37:4, "Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart" and we conveniently forget the first part. There are a lot of things I want. I want a husband. I want to have kids. I want to travel. I want to live somewhere else for a while. I want to love my family better. I want to be able to visit my friends more often. I want to feel appreciated.

But I have to remember the first part of that verse: to delight myself in the Lord. First. And when I do that, an amazing thing happens. All of the sudden my wants and my desires aren't so urgent and important. My heart is changed. My focus changes. It really is all about Him and when I find myself wanting more, it usually means I've failed to seek Him first.

This morning, Pastor had this to say: "What is the point of prayer? It is meant to change us! NOT to change God! To give all control over to Him and know that He cares more than we could ever care, and He loves more than we could ever love. God says to come to Him in prayer. Out of obedience and love, we should come to Him to change OUR hearts, NOT His."

And in the end, it really is a happy ending. God continues to give good gifts to His children, even when we are so undeserving. My piece eventually fits, it just might not look the same as when I started.