Finally!

Phil got a job! (yes, it's full-time with benefits)
It all happened quite fast, but perfectly. Phil told me about a company that had a few listings in the Charlotte Observer recently, with one in particular that he was interested in. He emailed in his resume and within an hour they had called! After a bit of phone tag they finally touched base and wanted to set up an interview. He was then offered the job on the spot. Words can't describe how much of a blessing this is. The position is one we've prayed for since day one, a supervisory role with a company that is excited to use his degree to its fullest. Best of all, my husband comes home happy!!

"Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart." 
Psalm 37:4

I've been thinking a lot about the verse above. I've read it often, but recently I have been understanding it much better....
Delight yourself in the Lord - Boy has my understanding of this drastically changed! Often, I don't give the word delight enough credit. Sometimes I think of it as a half-hearted emotion you fake every now and then to show interest. Oh so wrong! If I truly take delight in something, I'm passionate about it. I can't stop thinking about it, learning more about it, and talking about it to others. I've learned that really delighting myself in the Lord means living all out for Him. It's more than church on Sunday and prayers at meal-time...that's the half-hearted, fake emotion kind of delight that's so far from the mark. I have to instead challenge myself to always think of Him, learn more about His Word, and build a relationship with Him.
, and - That comma before 'and' is important to me now. It reminds me that there's a pause before the second half of this verse...a humbling pause the makes sure I'm focused on all that delighting myself in the Lord means. Only then can the rest make sense.
He will give you the desires of your heart - I used to have major trouble with this part of the verse. I never understood how, as sinners, Christ would just give me the desires of my heart. Of course I now know that is not the case at all. But, coupled with my inadequate understanding of 'delight', it now makes sense why I have felt so much frustration with Christ and His seeming lack of willingness to give me the desires of my heart. You see, God is not my servant. This is why He makes it clear that I must first delight myself in Him. Ultimately, it is God's purpose that is accomplished, and through prayer our desires are intertwined with His.

I mentioned before that Phil and I have prayed for a long time for a position like the one he found. I know Christ heard those prayers, and I'm confident that a year ago it was one selfish prayer we had been praying. We wanted a position like this for Phil, to better himself, his career goals, our happiness, and our finances. But nothing happened. God didn't deliver. Satan was sure trying, but we thankfully began to relentlessly delight ourselves in the Lord. Over that year, we abandoned ourselves and followed Christ. We started to see the real meaning of this verse as many of our desires radically changed in order to live a more obedient life for Christ. While we still prayed for a position like this one, we instead only wanted it if it would honor His plans. A drastic difference from before. It is such a peaceful, secure feeling to place your heart in Christ's hands and experience your desires intertwining with His.