Finding God in Your Desires
November 2, 2007
Hello friends. I haven’t abandoned you all! The latest DevoZine hasn’t arrived yet due to some paperwork confusion but I realize that that is no reason to neglect writing a devotion. You get to enjoy just my free-form thoughts this time! 
At some point in this past week, I talked about Living (as opposed to just living), and I want to talk a little bit more about that. My friends, God has given you great and wonderful gifts. I don’t have to know you to know that because we serve a faithful God who provides for and blesses every person He creates. He has given you a passion and a desire for something.
When have you felt the most alive? What happens in your life that awakens something inside of you, makes you feel uniquely joyful and thankful unlike anything else can? What does it take to stir your heart?
Pursue that. Whatever that is, (as long as it is not harmful to you or to others), go after it. For some of you, it may be writing. For some, it may be playing basketball or football. For some of you, it may be encouraging people younger than you and for some it may be talking to people older than you. And there may be some of you who haven’t experienced that feeling yet. Don’t worry. It will come. And when it does, you will know. Take note of what it is that brings you to Life, even (and especially) if it’s something that is unlike the things other people love. I don’t care if you’re reading this when you’re 10 or 68, I beg you to go after that which makes you come Alive.
Psalm 37:4 says “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” I believe that, my friends. But our desires are not the surperficial things that we crave fleetingly and lust after. Our desires are often quieter than that. They sometimes (frequently?) take us by surprise, even to a point that we may want to deny them. I believe that those desires are where we find God. I caution you so strongly here – This concept can become so very twisted because desires take so many different forms. But when our hearts and lives are lived chasing after God and allowing Him to reveal Himself to us, the quiet whispers of our hearts become the place where He speaks to us the most clearly.
Know that you have a deep heart. Know that God has placed longings there that only He and His purpose for you can fulfill. By whatever means you choose, get to know yourself, your God, and your heart. Journal. Pray. Read. Talk to other people – and listen to other people. When you begin to recognize your true desires and allow that the voice of God is spoken clearly in those desires, you will find joy and abundance and Life. He created you. He has placed those desires inside of you. Pursue them for His glory.
So many of us, including myself, get caught up in the ‘have to’s’ in life. I have to work and have no time for what I am truly passionate about. Thanks for the encouragement.
Oh my goodness! I suffer from the same challenge, my friend! I understand all about the “have-to’s, and “should’s” and “need-to’s! I feel them too! God bless you for taking the time to read this blog, which I think I can tell from your comment, is something God needed you to read. God led you here to let you know that YOU are not alone!
Take, my friend, one minute at a time! Just one minute to witness a sunset through God’s eyes, to hear a child sing through God’s ears, to smell a flower, to feel the warmth of an embrace.
Then, take a breath, take a minute more, and reflect on the one thing that you are passionate about, and let’s see if you can find a way to fulfill that passion.
Is it a matter of setting priorities? We are all good at filling up the “white space” on our calendars with “stuff.” Trust me when I say I am not judging you, I do the same thing! This is something that I am just now learning, and dealing with it on an almost daily basis. Use your imagination to see possibilities, your intelligence to evaluate your options, your will to resolve to move toward a goal, set out to accomplish it, and then exercise the power and the freedom to choose! Set your own priorities, my friend, or something or someone else will.
Remember, that God gave us all spiritual gifts and talents to share with others. To share that passionate gift in a way that pleases God is a blessing in abundance! I will be praying for you and I BOTH to squeak out a few moments this week
to use that passion for His glory!