“Desire”

You deserve honesty from the heart; yes, utter sincerity and truthfulness. Oh, give me this wisdom. Psalm 51:6 TLB

What you’re after is truth from the inside out. Enter me, then; conceive a new, true life. Psalm 51:6 MSG

Girlfriend, have you taken the time to speak to GOD about the desires of your heart? Those things that are unknown to the world — that reside within the deepest recesses of your being? He longs to hear from you.

Take a moment here to write a few of those: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

To articulate our thoughts and feelings can be a challenge for many of us. Sometimes we have to make a real effort to go there because we simply lack the ability to know how to express ourselves to the point that others will receive what we are trying to communicate. For many of us, we were not encouraged to speak up for ourselves, so we have become accustomed to ‘silencing our voice,’ and stuffing our feelings down into a black hole. Some of us may have been told that our desires and wants were not to be prioritized (much less verbalized) and so we find it difficult to recognize that they are equally important to those of others.

Coming into a relationship with the GOD of the universe — our Heavenly Father — gives us the knowledge that we do have the privilege to speak aloud our desires, and to have them heard and addressed. But how do we know if we have the ‘right’ desires? Is it possible to have ‘wrong’ desires?

Delight yourself in the LORD, And He will give you the desires and petitions of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; Trust in Him also and He will do it. Psalm 37:4-5 AMP

Our Scripture verse here gives us guidance and a ‘benchmark’ (if you will) of how to align our desires with the Will of GOD. Delight ourselves in Him — are we seeking after Him, His Will for us? Are we immersing ourselves into His Word on a daily basis? Are we communing (prayer with the intent to hear) with Him daily for our every need?

Giving ‘it’ up — raising our desires — to The Lord to allow Him to transform them and us will align our desires with His Will. This process doesn’t happen overnight, Sister, so be willing to go through a bit of a journey — before the journey. Our heart’s desires will transform our mind and get us on the right track to want the things that GOD wants for us. We have to trust that what GOD wants for us, in spite of what we think we must have, is best. So be open to changes along the way — He just may surprise you with somethings you had not considered — and you will be delighted beyond imagination.

Now, let’s look back up at those few desires that you listed earlier. How might those ‘change’ given the guidelines mentioned in our Scripture verse of Psalm 37:4-5? Make any notations or thoughts here: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

When I researched the definition of the word desire, this is what I found: (noun) A strong feeling of wanting to have something or wishing for something to happen. (verb) Strongly wish for or want (something).

I can recall an adolescent desire that sticks clearly in my mind. At the ripe old age of thirteen, it seemed as though all of my friends were becoming ‘women’ sooner than I was — and isn’t that the desire of every little girl? To grow up and become an adult (after all, being a kid is for kids) is the end goal. But part of that means going through all the rites of passage, and at this time of my life, I had yet to experience my first menstrual cycle. Yes, I actually desired to have that come upon me. Anyone out there relate? I chuckle as I reminisce the feelings of inadequacy and being incomplete. It seemed as though all the 7th grade girls were chatting about feminine pads and tampons and body aches and pains — with the exception of me. I had confided in my best friend at the time, who was just a month younger than I and even she had surpassed me in this sought after place in my quest to grow up. But I didn’t give up or give in. I somehow knew that GOD was not going to pass me up. Oh, but what prayers I prayed to beg Him to grant this desire of my heart! At home, down on my knees, in heartfelt longing to be made ‘whole.’ And in my adolescent mind — ‘complete.’

You’ve heard the saying, “be careful what you pray for.” MMHMM I see you nodding your head …

The rest is history. GOD undeniably granted my heart’s desire, and all the fixings that go along with it — PMS, aches and pains, headaches, mood swings, bloating, food cravings, etc. I felt that I had finally reached that next level of development. But it also taught me a valuable lesson: His Timing — not mine.

What deep desires has GOD granted you that you can recall with vivid memories? List a few of them here: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What can you remember about ‘how much’ you wanted these things to come to pass? What were the circumstances behind these desires, and what fueled them to be so important to you? Notate these things here: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What did it ultimately ‘look like’ when GOD granted these desires? Did the results look anything like your original requests? Or did GOD make a few ‘changes’ along the way? How did you feel about the end results? Record those here: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Looking back at how your Heavenly Father has filled the longings of your heart in the past, do you now have any ‘modifications’ to the actual desires of your heart today? Are you willing to give Him your expectations and allow Him to determine the ‘right timing’ for your desires to be fulfilled? Record your thoughts here: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

GOD has impressed upon my spirit to pray whenever I unexpectedly wake up in the middle of the night, or when I experience insomnia (I take this as His prompting because I can sleep under any noisy conditions). It is at this time I seek His whisperings — sometimes it’s for the sake of those He brings to the frontal part of my brain, and sometimes it’s for the longings of my heart — my deepest desires.

Be silent before the LORD, and wait expectantly for Him. Psalm 37:7a HCSB

The word ‘silent’ leaps up at me all the time because I have such an inclination to respond ‘aloud’. Then the word ‘wait’ challenges me to the core because it is part of my nature to be a ‘doer and mover.’ But the ‘adverb of advice’ to my soul is the word ‘expectantly.’ Here is where my inner man rejoices because it speaks volumes of how much better His Ways are above my own — and the end result will be heaven-sent!

“Be still, and know that I am God! Psalm 46:10 NLT

Now this is where I get into trouble — ‘stillness’ is not part of my human nature. So I have to remember that I am a ‘new creation’ in Christ and call upon His Nature within me to be ‘still.’ And isn’t that just like our flesh? We want what we want, when we want it, and how we want it. Everything on our own terms. Honestly, Sister, looking back over my life and all the messes for which I am responsible, I can whole-heartedly declare that thank you, GOD, Your Ways are higher than mine!

Soul Food for thought: Give it up to the One Who knows what’s truly best — He’s been there already and has designed for everything to work out for our good — because He loves us.

It’s difficult, I know, to relinquish our yearnings and cravings and desires. Somehow we have it set in our minds that no one else treasures our prized desires like we do, much less understand the importance and value of them. So it’s even more challenging for us to consider releasing our tight-fisted grip on our desires and to place them upon the altar of faith (consider Abraham and GOD’s instruction to put Isaac on the altar of faith as a living sacrifice), so that GOD can do a marvelous work with it in us and through us. Let us not make the mistake of idolizing or worshipping our desires. That’s what happens when we erroneously put our desires before the Will of GOD.

I beckon you, sweet Sister, to speak and let your requests be made known to the Known GOD — let Him hear your voice and how you are feeling about these things. Then I pray that you will desire to let Him have His Way with all these things — the timing and the fruition and the unveiling of it all. I believe that you will have more with which to be thankful and to pass on to those coming up behind you.

Please do share here — the rest of us would love to be blessed by what Our Father has done for you and to rejoice at how this may have changed things for you as you move forward in your walk with the Lord.

I love you to Heaven and Back, Girlfriend ~~

LindaRJohnson, TitusTwo Visionary