VRFD | God Fulfills Your True Desires

Introduction

Read Psalm 23:1-3

How was your Christmas?

One of my favorite things is watching my niece and nephews open presents. They are filled with so much PASSION!

CALEB - Open More Presents Video

No matter who you are or what time of year it is, we can all agree that we all want more!

Example : For my wife, it’s clothes. For me, it’s usually music instruments or gear.

Tonight, I wanted to talk about more than just wanting physical stuff. Maybe there are things in your life that didn’t work out the way you thought it would.

A tryout, an audition, an application you thought you did perfectly on, and you were rejected or weren’t chosen.

Maybe you wanted that relationship and it didn’t work out

Maybe you want to feel closer to your friends and it feels like they aren’t putting in the same amount of effort.

Applying to the School of the Arts for Music

Waiting is “loud”. It grabs all of your attention.

You refresh a text thread and nothing.

You see friends hanging out and you weren’t invited.

You’re scrolling on Instagram and you see different success stories and viral people, and you feel like you are two steps behind.

Through all of these moments, you can translate into “I’m not enough”, or “God’s not paying attention.”

That gap between what we want and what we have can distort how we see ourselves, our worth, our identity and how we see God.

In that gap, it’s easy to feel like God forgot about you. But what if He was protecting you?

Psalms 23:1-3

The Lord is my shepherd - A good shepherd knows his flock, guides his sheep, and provides for them, and guides them to places that they can feed.

David wrote this, and he’s not saying that life is perfect.

He is saying that with God as my Shepherd, I am not empty. When all else fails, I return to him, and He restores my soul.

When I don’t know where to go, He leads me along the right paths at the right time.

SLOTH - Sometimes it can feel like God is like the sloth on Zootopia.

But He is not slow, He is wiser than us!

He gives us what we truly need at the exact point that we actually need it, and He leads us away from what might harm us or if it’s not the best for us, even if it looks good in the moment.

I’m not saying that desires are the bad. Our desires aren’t the enemy, they are a part of being human.

They also change as you grow.

Highschoolers, I want you to think about the stuff you wanted when you were 13, is it the same thing as what you want now? You might not even be able to remember it.

Middleschoolers, think about the stuff you wanted when you were 7, is that the same thing you want now?

That is a part of growth.

This is a part of the Christian life,

Following the Shepherd is allowing Him to mature your wants to line up with His desires for you.

If you feel like that feels boring, then you have an incorrect view of God!

God is not boring, you’re boring.

The God of the entire universe, who created everything, cares for YOUR PATH.

In my walk with the Lord, I have seen countless times when I knew God was leading me in a direction and I decided not to take it. In the end, He has always been right, in both his path and his timing.

Revisit School of the Arts Application Story

Darrell, praying for Full time story - The night I made a cup of tea and prayed with God and asked Him to make me full time at the church.

This past year, I got to score my very first short film.

This was years in the making! It takes strength to get up everyday and say, “Alright Lord, I trust you. I trust you. I trust you.

Jesus’ desire for your life is a life that lasts, an everlasting life, not just a life that trends.

Challenge :

1.) Be honest about one thing that feels missing in your life right now.

2.) Now make a short provision list : Write down at least 3 ways God has already or is already providing for you this week

People who have show up in your life, the help you have, opportunities in front of you,

Food, water, shelter, clothes, a family that loves you

3.) Write one step of trust you’ll take this week :

A prayer you’ll pray, a conversation you’ll start, a choice you’ll make that says, “I believe that YOU are my Shepherd.”

Close in a song : House of God Forever

Repeat after me Prayer : “Jesus, my Shepherd, You see my whole path. Thank You for what You’ve already provided today. I give You the desire I’m carrying and the part that feels missing. Lead me in what is right, restore my soul, and teach me to trust You with what I want while I walk in what I need. Guide me this week, one step at a time. Amen.”