But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. James 1:22

 

I wish I had a better relationship with God. I wish I were better with finances. I wish I didn’t feel anxious and afraid. It’s easy to wish we were better.

 

Our wish lists show that knowing something isn’t the same as doing it. I can know God never leaves me and yet feel afraid. I can know that it would be better to save money rather than spend it and still make an unwise or desperate decision. I can know that God is good and still feel depressed or anxious. It can be hard to get head, heart and nervous system all on the same page. Sometimes knowledge can be exhausting because it’s just another measuring stick that our lived experience doesn’t align with. We can know what we should do yet still be very stuck in our realities.

 

The Bible warns us, “Don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. Do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it” (James 1:22).

 

The renewal needed to achieve your spiritual “wish list” is found in “resetting” ourselves daily in Him. Our heads, hearts and nervous systems come into alignment when we take time to talk to God every day and then listen for the Holy Spirit’s quiet guidance. Do you meditate every day on God’s truth in scripture and let Him use it to bring peace to your heart?

 

It’s God’s desire that all of your life and all of your desires align with his good purposes for you. “Take delight in the LORD,” Psalm 37, reminds us, “and he will give you your heart’s desires” (Psalm 37:4).