Okay, God. You Can Quit Laughing.

Many moons ago the Lord taught me something: He delights in giving us the desires of our heart when the acquisition of the desire no longer matters to us. Later I heard a pastor preach on this principle, using the garbage dump as the basis for his premise. Do you know where to find unspeakable treasures? At the dump. Everything there was at one time new and the answer to someone's heartfelt desire. Now it is trash. Treasure once upon a time, trash now.

Is there a Scripture basis? I'll give you one example. Remember Moses? The Book of Acts tells us that he was "educated in all the learning of the Egyptians, and he was a man of power in words and deeds"(Acts 7:22). Those were his pre-plague days. When he came to the point of believing that God would bring deliverance to the nation of his birth through his hands, through his position and power--in his shortsighted arrogance he killed an Egyptian, and life went downhill fast. He ended up spending 80 years in the wilderness where all the yuppy learning he got in Egypt was worn to a nub and he went from being a man of powerful demeanor to being a meek man known for stuttering. When he lost it all, or so he thought, then God gave him the deliverance for his people that he had craved--through his own hands, no less!

I have a pastor friend who yearned for a supernatural sighting of God, a vision, something, anything. To show God his sincerity, he fasted for several days prior to a men's retreat he attended. When he arrived, a cross had been set up in one of the main rooms. My friend went to kneel and pray at the cross, calling out to God. Something made him look up … and what did he see? Jesus leaning on the cross with one elbow in a classic nonchalance pose. He looked at my friend with a rueful smile, quirked and eyebrow, and asked, "Are you happy now?" Well, my friend got what he wanted, but he felt rather sheepish. The truth of what he had asked for washed over him. A vison for the sake of a vision is, well, a little childish.

I tell you this so that you can see how God has a sense of humor. Not the Roman and Greek god kind where those overactive figments of dark imaginations played with people's lives, getting a kick out of messing them up. Nope. Our God is REAL. He is our Creator. He made us in His image--including His sense of humor. While one of the things He delights in is granting us, His beloved children, that for which we yearn, He likes to give it to us after the fact, when our focus has been taken from the thing to the Giver.

"Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation." Habakkuk 3:17-18

Take last week's post. I talked about wanting to go to Texas to visit friends and family. God spoke to a new acquaintance at church to pray for me--specifically, because I was missing my former social network. This blew me away for two reasons--first, because God revealed my need in a miraculous manner to someone I barely knew, and second, because it moved me to the core of my being, showing me that God did love me personally, not just as a glob part of the body of Christ. This produced a healing in my heart. Every succeeding day I felt the grief of loss of my old life lessen more and more.

When going to Texas was no longer of prime importance to me, then my husband told me that although the moneys we are waiting on in order for both of us to make the trip has yet to come (that's a long story in itself) I was welcome to take a jaunt to Texas on my own, staying with family in order to make ends meet. I was grateful for his words, but I no longer actually needed to go to be happy. I am grateful for that--because when I contacted the family I would have to stay with, family from their better half's side is staying with them. (I can hear you snickering, Jesus!) My husband's kind intentions aside, until the money for hotels makes its appearance, it's a no-go. But it doesn't move me! I am happy anyway!

To top it all off, last night a new church friend pulled me aside. She gifted me with three things--a mug with a Texas logo (no picture--it's in the dishwasher as I write), a magnet with a map of Texas on it, and her testimony. Several years ago she found herself in my shoes--stripped away from her family and friends and, well, devastated. But she gave me examples of how God put people she could network with in her path and how He restored her life.

So I have gone from distressed to brimming with complete serenity. And I honestly believe my God is laughing, rejoicing that His overly emotional daughter is now enjoying the sense of harmony found only in His presence.

I love Texas. I love the life I had there. But God is here in Tennessee, too. When I willingly put the old life on the backburner, my new life began to unfold in all its richness. There is love and friendship--and God--to be found here.

Wherever you are, in whatever circumstances you find yourself--know that you are not alone. Your friend that "sticketh closer than a brother" is right there with you, and He will bring richness and joy to your life.

"The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy, he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing." Zephaniah 3:17