Itchy Arms and Hamsters

Hey everyone! Please be in prayer for the Mountain View Youth Retreat next week. God will be using me to bring the devotions so please pray that I will be able to hear what He wants to share with these special young men and women. I will write a post as soon as I get back and tell you all the wonderful things God did! How do I know? Because I expect Him to do big things. And He never disappoints... "The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love. He will rejoice over you with singing." Zephaniah 3:17 "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4 This past week, I was talking to my best friend Angel on the phone. She said, "let me tell you just how much God loves me." Angel began to share that her week had been somewhat hectic at home. Her son's hamster had gotten loose from his cage and had been missing for a couple of days ( I know...that creeps me out too! This is why my son has a goldfish.). She also said that her husband, Larry, had gotten poison oak all over his arms and was miserably itching. Angel said that she woke up during the night and began to pray for her husband to be able to sleep peacefully(without itching) and for God to please find the hamster! Several hours later, God awoke Angel to find her husband snoring and the hamster sitting on top of her dresser! I laughed and cried at the same time when she told me that she thanked God for caring about "itchy arms and hamsters!" This illustration is one of many that proves God's word to be true. I must say that Psalms 37:4 has been my favorite verse for a large part of my life. Delight, in this sense, is used as a verb; it is an action. Delight means 'to please'. I love the fact that if I please the Lord, He will give me what my heart truly desires. But I have found that the Lord also delights in us as well. Why is this so special? Because I think it is so sweet that the Lord, Jehovah God, Yahweh, wants to please me. He loves me that much. He cares if I desire the smallest of things or the largest, most complicated things. I believe His word to be true. It is important for us to improve our relationship with Him by knowing Him to be this personal. Do you know this about Him? Do you believe that He cares about you so much that He is paying attention to every detail? He is recording what you desire ever so deeply or even desperately in your heart. But you must tell Him. Please tell Him what you really desire. Often this is taking Him our raw emotions that we don't tell anyone else. I hope you will join me in telling God your hearts desires. And remember...He really does care about itchy arms and hamsters!! Love, Corrie My prayer for today: Lord, how humbling it is to know that the mighty God of Heaven and Earth takes the time to care for my every need. I fail you so often. It has to be your mercy that allows you to love me deeper each and every day...