by: Charla Candy
from Nashville, Tennessee
Guest Devotional Writer
“Delight thyself also in the Lord, and he shall give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37:4
When I was in junior high, I used to pray at night for God to bring me a boyfriend. When I would decide to like a certain boy and it looked like he might not like me back, I would pray really hard for God to make that boy like me!
I was boy crazy, or what some may call, a teenage girl. I remember thinking that if I had a boyfriend, my life would be perfect.
Well years went by and my prayers weren’t being answered. I would spend long hours in front of the mirror, making myself look my best. I would try to act fun at school and talk to all the right/popular people so my crush would notice me.
After all my efforts, I still wasn’t having any luck. “What’s wrong with me?” I would cry to God.
“Why don’t I have a boyfriend.” I wondered why I had prayed so hard and hadn’t got my boyfriend.
Finally in my later years of highschool things started to look up and I had a few boyfriends and then I began to pray to God for a “cool” boyfriend and a “hot” boyfriend.
Then later on I found that “cool” boyfriends weren’t always nice and “hot” boyfriends weren’t always smart. It seemed like the search would never end. Why couldn’t God give me the right boyfriend.
Then I began reading my Bible. Hoping maybe that would help me get the right boyfriend, I came across a verse that changed my whole outlook. Psalm 37:4 says, “Delight in the ways of the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.”
I realized that I was focusing all my efforts on the wrong thing. Instead of begging God for a boyfriend, I needed to delight myself in the ways of the Lord. I needed to focus more on God and helping others.
I began studying the ways of the Lord and as I am getting to know Him, my desires have changed from getting a boyfriend to living a life sharing love and kindness with friends, family, and even strangers.
This sinful world makes us believe that petty things are so important. Like the cars you drive, the people you date, where you live, who you know, and how much money you make. But even acquiring all these things will never-ever bring true happiness and will always leave you wanting more.
God promises to give you the desires of your heart, you just have to delight in his ways.
