by Alisha | Jan 19, 2014 | Uncategorized
Have you ever thought about just how much the Lord loves and delights in you? It’s true!
Zephaniah 3:17 (NIV) says, “The Lord your God …will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.”
Psalm 37:23 (NLT) states that God “delights in every detail of [your] life.”
And 1 Peter 5:7 (AMP) declares that God “cares for you affectionately and He cares about you watchfully.”
These verses not only show us that He delights in us, but that He also has a tender, caring, and affectionate love for each of us.
One of my favorite scriptures, Ephesians 2:4 (AMP) says, “But God—so rich is He in His mercy! Because of and in order to satisfy the great and wonderful and intense love with which He loved us.”
This scripture reveals three facets of God’s love for us. His love for you is great and wonderful and intense!
He loves you so much that He wants you to be His and His alone. In fact, He is jealous for you:
James 4:5 (MSG) says, “…He’s a fiercely jealous lover.” Another version of this verse puts it this way: “He wants you for Himself alone,” (NCV).
And Deuteronomy 4:24 (CEB, GNT) says, “The LORD your God is an all-consuming fire. He is a passionate God. He tolerates no rivals.” From these verses we can see that God loves you passionately, fiercely, and jealously.
Psalm 36:5,7 (NLT) states, “Your unfailing love, O LORD, is as vast as the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds…How precious is your unfailing love, O God!”
And Micah 7:18(NLT) states, “He delights in mercy and in showing unfailing love.”
God’s love for us is precious, merciful and unfailing. His love for us is vast and limitless!
Jeremiah 31:3 (KJV) says, “I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.” Other translations of the latter part of this verse read: “therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you,” (ESV); “…that’s why I’ve been so patient and kind,” (CEV); and “…so I have continued to show you My constant love,” (GNT).
So from this one verse, we learn that God’s love for us is faithful, patient, kind, constant, and most importantly, everlasting!
These scriptures are only the “tip of the iceberg” concerning the delight and love the Father has for you. There are many, many more scriptures that speak of His great love.
No matter what you have done — whether you feel you deserve the Lord’s love or not — He delights in you! His love for you will never end. He will never fail you, never forsake you, never give up on you, and never let you down! (Hebrews 13:5, AMP)
And remember what the Apostle Paul said in Romans 8:38-39, “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Take comfort in the fact that the Almighty God delights in you! He loves you more than you could ever fathom. Receive His love today. Nothing can ever separate you from it!
Prayer:
Father, thank You for delighting in me and in every detail of my life!
You are an amazing God! Your love towards me is great, wonderful and intense.
It is tender, caring and affectionate, yet it is also passionate, fierce and jealous.
I receive Your unfailing, everlasting love today. Nothing can separate me from it!
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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by Alisha | Jan 6, 2014 | Uncategorized
What is the dream in your heart? What is the desire that burns within you? What does your soul long for? If God would do anything for you, what would it be?
It is important to identify that one thing, because many times the dream, the desire, the fire that burns within your heart will be a clear indicator of God’s will for your life.
Philippians 2:13 (AMP) says, … for it is God Who is all the while effectually at work in you [energizing and creating in you the power and desire], both to will and to work for His good pleasure and satisfaction and delight.
The Lord is creating in you the desire to do His will.
And Psalm 37:4 (NKJ) says, Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.
So many people read this verse and see only part of its meaning – the part where if they will delight in the Lord, then He will fulfill the desires of their heart. And I believe this is completely true.
However, I also believe that if we spend much time in His Word and in His presence (through prayer) and truly learn to delight in Him, that He will place desires within our hearts. In other words, the desires that are in our heart have been given to us by the Lord.
These desires are things that are part of His plan and purpose for our lives. We may think that these things that are so dear to us are only our natural desires, but all along the Lord has been planting seeds of desire within our heart. And if we’ll nurture and water those seeds, they will come to fruition in our lives and place us right in the center of His perfect will.
(For further reading on this topic, check out Discovering Your God-Given Purpose.)
This is why it is so vital to live a life that is true to yourself. Don’t be in bondage to be who others expect you to be or to do what others expect you to do.
Have the courage to follow your heart and follow your dreams! They are important to God. And many times those dreams and desires have been given to you by Him to enable you to fulfill His plan for your life and to fulfill your joy!
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by Alisha | Jan 1, 2014 | Uncategorized
Psalm 65:11 (NKJ) says, “You crown the year with Your goodness, and Your paths drip with abundance.” And Psalm 23:5 (NLT) says, “My cup overflows with blessings.”
I pray that 2014 will be a year filled with the goodness and abundance of God! May you experience an overflow of His blessings in every area of your life!
by Alisha | Oct 25, 2013 | Uncategorized
John Ruskin wrote, “Make yourselves nests of pleasant thoughts…bright fancies, satisfied memories, noble histories, faithful sayings, treasure houses of precious and restful thoughts, which care cannot disturb, nor pain make gloomy, nor poverty take away from you. Houses built without hands for your souls to live in.”
Cultivating the soul is about finding what speaks to you – to the innermost parts of your being – and making a conscious effort to pursue those things and drink them in on a regular basis. It’s about exploring the fathomless depths within you and giving expression to who you are.
I have only touched on a few things that can help you cultivate your soul, but we must not forget other areas: such as visiting art galleries, museums, taking in plays based on literary works, enjoying a ballet, etc. Or what about traveling to far away places and learning of other cultures? The possibilities go on and on.
The most important thing to remember is not to allow those desires or nudges to get lost or suffocated in the constraints of the every day. Yes, you must make time to grow your spirit and exercise your body – both of these things are vital. But don’t forget that you are a three-part being: spririt, soul, and body. So in all the things that you do on a daily basis, you must not neglect your soul.
If you do, you will carry a deep sense of unfulfillment and dissatisfaction throughout your life.
Find out what your passions are. Reawaken those buried dreams for your life. Listen to those inner longings of your soul.
Cultivating your soul and living a fulfilling and pleasurable life (even if they are the simplest of pleasures) is how you build your “nest of pleasant thoughts” and “satisfied memories” that the cares of life cannot disturb or take away from you.
Take time to nurture and tend to your soul so that later on in life, you will have built a house of beautiful experiences and precious memories for your soul to live in!
This post is excerpted from my book, A Life That Flourishes. Click on image below to purchase.
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by Alisha | Oct 24, 2013 | Uncategorized
Day 9 of the Cultivating Your Soul series –
These are the things I prize
And hold of dearest worth:
Light of the sapphire skies,
Peace of the silent hills,
Shelter of the forest, comfort of the grass,
Music of birds, murmur of little rills,
Shadows of clouds that swiftly pass,
And, after showers,
The smell of flowers
And of the good brown earth –
And best of all, along the way, friendship and mirth.
~ Henry Van Dyke
Have you ever wondered why the Lord placed Adam and Eve in a garden instead of building them a nice little home in which to dwell? Perhaps it’s because He knew just how much our human souls would need the beauty of His creation.
There is nothing like walking along the ocean shore at sunset to put all of life’s problems in perspective. And there is nothing like looking out over a majestic mountain range in the autumn, viewing the gorgeous colored foliage to make your soul thrill! Or what about standing at the top of a gorge or canyon as your heart flutters and toes tingle? Or the awe you feel at the base of an immense waterfall? Or the smallness of being lost in a dark and tangled forest?
So often in life we are faced with problems and trials, and unfortunately, we can get so caught up in ourselves and our own little world, that we forget there is an enormous world out there, created by an omnipotent and mighty God who knows just how to solve those problems.
In the cultivating of your soul, be sure to get out of doors and remind yourself of the One who created your soul, the One who created the huge, expansive universe and everything within it.
Nature can awaken your soul and stimulate your senses, making you feel more alive. And on the other hand, it can quiet and still your soul, bringing you immense comfort, tranquility and peace.
You need the beauty of the natural world. And God has already given it to you.
As Psychology Professor, Richard Ryan, wrote, “Nature is fuel for the soul…We have a natural connection with living things. Nature is something within which we flourish, so having it be more a part of our lives is critical, especially when we live and work in built environments.”
Nature nourishes the soul, increasing your energy and giving you a heightened sense of awareness. Just spending a little bit of time outdoors each day will enhance your sense of well-being and satisfaction.
So, find some way to connect with the Lord’s creation as often as you can:
- Go on a nature hike into the hills or mountains with your family and enjoy a picnic afterward.
- Bask in the sunshine of a local park while you take your lunch break.
- Plant and cultivate a garden.
- Take the dog for a walk on a daily basis.
- Stroll along the beach squishing wet sand between your toes.
- Or better yet, play in the ocean with your kids.
- Lie under a starry sky watching for shooting stars
- Or under big, puffy clouds imagining all sorts of creatures from their shapes.
Whatever way you can take in the natural beauty that surrounds you, do it. It will work wonders for your soul!
Next post … Houses for Your Souls to Live In.
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Linking up with the Autumn Hopscotch at iHomeschool Network.
