What do you desire? A new job, recognition, children, a spouse, money, a house, a car? Many of our desires can be Godly. There is nothing wrong with wanting children, someone to share your life with or a nice place to live in. These desires only become wrong when they become our focus, when they take the place of God in our heart.
Do you ever find yourself longing to steal away to spend a few moments with God? Sometimes, throughout the day I will be struck with this feeling. It is similar to the feeling I get when I am anticipating an evening out with my husband, knowing our son will be with a babysitter and we will have no expectations of us except to focus completely on each other. It is one of my favorite things to do, to just "be" with my husband. But I have to ask myself, is it that way with God and me? Do I truly long for Him? To be with Him? To communicate, get to know Him, meditate on Him? He is my Father, my Redeemer, the one man who can and has saved me from eternal damnation, and who has prepared an eternal place for me in Heaven with Him. No one in this life has or can even come close to the place that He should have in my life. I say "should" because although I have those times throughout the day that I wish I could spend with Him, they still do not happen quite as often as they should or as I'd like them to. I would say that I have a long way to go regarding this area. Thank the Lord for sanctification. :)
We really need to examine ourselves. We need to put our lives in order, put our desires in the place they belong. I have had many many desires throughout my life, and I know that all too many times they have taken the place of my Father. They have taken up so much of my heart that I have had very little room left there for God. I've also noticed that during those times in my life, where I am not right spiritually, everything just seems hopeless. It is incredibly shameful.
But there is hope. Now here is the awesome part.
Needless to say the last few months have proven especially trying, but when God has had His proper place in my heart, I have found that I can handle just about anything. When I have faced trials that seem too difficult to bear and sometimes down right frightening, I am reminded of God's promises to me: "I will never leave you nor forsake you" (Hebrews 13:5). "If you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, Move from here to there, and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you" (Matthew 17:20). I cannot express how incredibly empowering this is even in some of the worst circumstances. This is why I will never be able to understand how anyone could hear the Gospel and choose to go their own way. Why anyone would want to go it alone is beyond me. Where there is Christ, there is peace, hope and comfort. And the absolute best part about all of this, is that it is everlasting. There is nothing better, and in my eyes there is no alternative.
May my desire for Him be far greater than my desire for anything else.
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