Psalm 37:4(ESV)
“Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”
In the Old Testament, God gives us the record of His servant, Abraham, who was destined to become our Father of believing. Abraham was fully persuaded that what God promised, He was willing and able to perform. Abraham had a strong desire to be a father, and this wasn’t out of the ordinary. During those times, having a son to pass on a father’s bloodline and legacy was the hope of every man. The difference between Abraham’s desire and that of other men was the fact that Abraham was way past the years of childbearing. It was in his senior years that God promised to give him a son, and to bless him mightily. Given his age, this would have been hard to believe for most people, but Abraham continued to walk with the Father. Ultimately, Abraham received the promise of God because he kept faith in the truth that God would honor His promise.
Romans 8:29(ESV) says, “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.” Our Heavenly Father is a God of purpose. The Bible reveals that God has a fixed purpose regarding how His plans will be accomplished. He knew us way before we entered our mother’s wombs, and His purpose for our lives is in our spiritual DNA. He reminds us in Isaiah 29:11 that He knows the plans He has for us, and this is where our faith must be.
God allows for our desires to push us toward His plan because his plan for us is pleasing and perfect. For those of us that have a desire to be married, if you’re a child of God it’s likely that God planted this desire in your heart. Genesis 2:18 (NLT) says “Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.” Our desire to be married allows God’s plan of family to go forth.
Philippians 2:13(NLT) tells us, “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.” God was the author of Abraham’s destiny, and Abraham came into this world with everything he needed to fulfill God’s purpose. It is the very same with us. We are not random individuals. Ephesians 1:4(NLT) affirms, “Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.” Every person living and that has ever lived belongs to God. He is our Creator and there is nothing about us that is surprising to Him. By accepting Jesus Christ as the Lord of our lives and believing that God raised him from the dead, we received God’s Holy Spirit. The Spirit dwells within us this very moment, he is working inside us, giving us both the desire and power to fulfill God’s purpose.
The desires of our hearts are apart of the Spirit’s workings. The Spirit is stirring up some things within because they need to come to the surface to open our eyes. It is inevitable that pursuing the blessing will teach us what we need to hear from God, and for many of us, we would not pursue God’s Word were it not for our heart’s desire.
The purpose of your desire is to help you fulfill your purpose in the plan and Will of God. Fulfilling God’s purpose is the greatest privilege, responsibility, and fulfillment that we could ever hope to achieve. Many of us spend a great deal of time praying for the thing we desire most, especially when it comes to relationships and marriage, but we need not worry. God’s plan for us will prevail. James 1:17(ESV) declares, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights.” Matthew 7:11(ESV) says, “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” And Jesus Christ said in Matthew 6:8(ESV), “for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!”
God’s provision is absolute. He is our Sufficiency in all things, and He knows exactly what He’s doing. He doesn’t want us worrying about whether or not He will bless us or how He will bless us. Ephesians 3:20-21(NLT) declares, “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 21 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” He will go above and beyond the dream we have in our hearts, and His desire for our happiness and wholeness is always greater than our own. We must trust this with our whole hearts.
In his final conversation with the disciples and the end of his life was approaching, John 17:1(NLT) tells us, “After saying all these things, Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son so he can give glory back to you.”” This was the motivation of Jesus Christ. It was to do the Father’s Will and to receive glory so he could give it back to God. We have to ask ourselves about our own motivations to receive blessings from God. Is it just to satisfy our own needs, or is it to give glory back to God? The image of Christ demands us to have the same motivation as Christ, which is to glorify God in all that we do.
God doesn’t punish us but helps us flip the script on our motivations so that they are glorifying and pleasing to Him. He does this by working in us through our desires so that the fruit of the Spirit of faith and patience are etched in our hearts and minds. So, focus on God, not the desire. Leave the desire in His extremely capable hands and concentrate on your relationship with Heavenly Father. Your spiritual growth and maturity are His priority. He has predestined you to become the spitting image of Christ, and it should be the greatest pleasure of your life to partner with Him in this. He is working in you, and He is helping you to realize that the blessing you desire isn’t just for you. It’s for His glory, and this always means that He is blessing others through you. Be patient and have faith as He does His Will in your life.■
English Standard Version (ESV), The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“The Purpose of Your Desire”, written by KLizzie, edited by Reverend Fran Mack, for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2022. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! SMS is dedicated to inspiring and encouraging Christian Women through the Word of God.