I Want It All !

You know, when we hear "I Want It All" it sounds very selfish.  We can easily imagine a spoiled 3-year old throwing a tantrum and shouting "It's mine" or "I want it!"  It just rubs the wrong way.  Ick.

But my devotion today helps us turn the thought around.

Get an expectation in your heart, an anticipation, that God is going to do something great in your life today. Have an attitude that says, “God, I want all you have for me.”  Today is filled with possibility and promise.

I do want all God has for me.  And He is not limited to just the toys in the playroom such as the selfish toddler we envision.  His resources are all-inclusive!  They were created by and belong to Him!  There is more than enough.

Now mind you, "I Want It All" does NOT mean all that the world has to offer.  If that were true, then I would be buying in to fancy cars, excessive money, power to rule, fans screaming my name and thunderous applause. 

But I submit to you that somewhere back in time price tags were changed.  The value of a life and things has gotten confused.

Think how things have changed....From life-long marriages to living together until the next thing comes along; handwritten thank-yous to terse emails; time spent with your children without electronic devices to every room having a tv and a cell phone for every child!

The fact is, God's way is the complete opposite of the world's way.  If you want to be great in God, learn to be a servant, rather than desiring to be a king.  What?  Humble myself? Exactly.

I had a wall hanging for a long time that said, "God will give you the desires of your heart."  And I saw that wall hanging at least several times a day.  Whenever I considered that sign long enough I would take a moment to say, "yeah, God, and here is my list of desires."

But then came the day when my heart opened up my eyes.  And I read it with new meaning and felt genuinely surprised that I had not read it correctly before.  God will GIVE me the desires I should have, not the desires I want!  He will place the desires in my heart.  The right ones.

In the past few years since getting divorced, I have certainly learned this:  If I am living to please God to the best of my ability, all things come from Him.  I might pray or wish for something else or a different answer.  But HE KNOWS exactly what I need to be free.  And if it comes from Him, well, who else would I want it come from????

So many times when it looked bleak and dreary, and I could not see the road ahead, God still used that situation to teach me and bring me out into a better place.  EVERY TIME.  But if I fight and struggle against Him, it just takes that much longer and that much more heartache.

So I do want it all.  Everything God has for me.  I will not question the wisdom of God.  Each day is filled with possibility and promise, but only if I have the right price tags on what is important.  I truly desire for God to place the right desires in my heart.

I am not saying that I haven't questioned God.  But I have been blessed to be able to say that in the worst of life's circumstances, I have called out, make that cried out, to God rather than run from Him.  He is ALWAYS there.

I just wish I would have learned this lesson long ago:  "If it is FROM Him, then it is FOR me." 

Faith is not faith if you believe when everything is going your way.  That is easy.  Faith is faith when you believe and nothing is going your way.  Your friends and family may look at you crazy as you let your light shine from the deepest, darkest hole.  But that is faith, strong and true.  I have had some friends criticize me for being happy when everything else was falling down around me.  But I just don't know what else to do but get up and keep trying.  It's much easier to do when you know God has your back!

Look at each day as a possibility.  Be ready for what might be right around the corner.  Keep your mind and heart open to people and the opportunity to grow, learn, change, help.

Dear God,  I thank you for today.  I ask you to help me check myself at the door and let my heart be filled with only Your ways.  When I am lonely, I want to run to You.  When I am tired, I want to call out Your name.  When things are going well, I want to thank You.  Please help me see You in everything. Help me in the times when I have unbelief or doubt to know that You are watching out for me better than any other could.  I do want all You have for me and I trust You with my life. Amen. ~ Me