I’ve learned something this year and can’t live with myself if I don’t share it with you.
Take a second and picture what you crave more than anything in the world. Imagine that thing that you fall asleep wishing for and wake up wanting. Can you see it? Good. Keep it in mind as you read.
There are two kinds of yearnings: the ones God places in our hearts and the kind we put in our minds, then permit to slip into our hearts. God’s desires are nourishing. Our own can be poisonous.
When I was younger, I believed my heart should be my guide. If things worked out according to my heart’s desire, especially if things fell into place quickly, I was sure the dream aligned with God’s will. It had to, right?
Not always. Sometimes we want something so badly we persuade ourselves that God placed the longing in our hearts. The truth is we planted that seed ourselves, watered it, and fertilized it.
Let me tell you a story. One very hot day a woman planted a seed she found while wandering on a quiet road. She found soft soil and tucked it into the earth. She watered it morning and evening until it became a tall golden sunflower that sought the sunshine.
She loved the sunflower. She spent her days gazing at it, rejoicing in its beauty. As the days passed, her skin began to redden. But she didn’t want to look away from her sunflower. It was all she cared about.
Then one stifling day, she shifted her gaze and saw a towering oak tree. She dragged herself away from her sunflower and hurried toward the relief the tree promised. As she stood under the broad green leaves, her skin cooled. Her breathing slowed in the sweet shade. She closed her eyes and heard leaves shaking in the breeze.
For a moment she thought she heard the ocean. She leaned back against the immovable trunk, closed her eyes, and rested. Suddenly her sunflower seemed…vain. She’d grown weary of gazing at golden petals, of settling for a little shadow on her face while the rest of her body burned in the sunshine.
She asked herself, Why would she choose a flower’s shade when she could have a majestic oak shield not just her face but her whole body? She decided to rest under the shade of the tree until the heat of summer passed.
One day she noticed her sunflower had shriveled. She’d forgotten to water it. She shrugged her shoulders, closed her eyes, and rested against her oak tree, basking in its wondrous shade.
Now pretend you’re the girl (Sorry, gentlemen. You can be a boy, if you’d like.) Sunflowers grow in a few months. Oak trees take years to mature. If God wants you to wait for the oak but you settle for the sunflower, you rob yourself – hear me now – rob yourself of God’s blessing.
So that picture in your mind, the one I told you to hold onto? Is it possible it does not align with God’s will? Is this deep desire in your heart merely a sunflower?
Place yourself under God’s red oak. Bask in the sweet shade and lean against the trunk. Sense His presence. Throughout the coming days, wait and see if He leads you away from your golden flower and toward His magnificent oak.
The best way to live life is to ask God to align your will with His. God will always grant your heart’s desire when this is your prayer. All God’s blessings to you this week.