You’re all I want.

Background: this past week I have been faced with some very strong temptations. I have been frustrated that they even have a pull on me. “I thought I was content in You, Lord.” Two and a half years ago I was broken…and broken…and broken. The Lord showed up in my brokenness and filled the voids in my heart. I experienced that His love is enough. Now I am faced with temptations that, in the past, I have given in to. I don’t want to go back there, and part of me doesn’t even want to be TEMPTED to go back there. The Lord has started to show me that this is where the real test comes in. : ) He put the following on my heart…

It is a great test to be stripped of everything we value and find comfort in, and yet to still praise Him. In these times we learn to rely on the Lord in our weakness, and although we could not seek Him without Him drawing us to do so, there aren’t many choices for us to pursue when everyone and everything else has let us down. “Lord, you are the only one still here…the only one who will never let me down.” God’s faithfulness is confirmed. It is a difficult but rewarding place to be. There is real struggle and real pain. We are presented with the question, “Will I continue to worship Him, even if I lose all this world has to offer?”

What I am learning is that, for me, the real test comes not when I am stripped of all my opportunities for worldy pleasure and have nowhere else to go, but when I am SURROUNDED by these opportunities and still choose Him. It is supernatural whenever we desire to draw close to the Lord. It is glorious when we are faced with temptation on every side, worldly pleasures calling for our attention, BUT ABOVE ALL ELSE we desire the Lord’s intimacy and His glory.

Both experiences are valuable – when all our comforts are stripped away, we learn that He is more than enough; when temptations surround us on every side and our desire for Him STILL wins out, we learn that He is desirable above all things (the fairest of ten thousand).

Don’t discount the place in which the Lord has You. Allow Him to teach you to be content with everything or with nothing. Remember, the END goal is to know Him. May the good times, the bad times, and the ehh times all draw you closer to Him.