I am reading the journey of Desire by John Eldredge. Most women would recognize him from his book Captivating, while most men connect with his book, Wild at Heart. His words have really connected with me.
I go to bed at night with a burning in my heart. I wake up in the morning feeling like there is something more. Like life is meant to be passionate and full of adventure. So often we are told to settle down, to be careful, to watch our step, don’t sit so close to the tv. God created in us a deep desire to live and a deep desire for certain things, this often goes hand in hand with their spiritual gifts. For people who are gifted with counseling, they love to see others heal themselves and grow. For those who are good craftsmen, they love to build. When we dismiss our desire as a “temptation to sin” we suppress God’s call to live a full life.
One of my biggest fears is that my desire will continue to be dismissed as immaturity and unrealistic passion and that I will begin to believe those lies. In all reality, I have already started believing that my desire is something that should be harnessed and kept under wraps. We grow up being told to believe in our dreams, shoot for the stars, love with all our hearts. But then we are told to be realistic, to have a backup plan, to take out insurance policies. We are too worried about living safe, boring, unpassionate lives. This has become such a norm in our society that I feel ashamed to follow my desire. And the older you get, the more you are labeled immature and flakey. Yet at the same time, deep down in everyone’s heart is a longing to be “that guy.” To be the guy that lives a simple yet passionate life, following his heart and not always having a plan. The difference between an immature adult and one seeking the desire that God intended for us is that maturity means putting your faith in God. It means knowing that God takes pleasure in seeing us living passionate lives. It means knowing that his plan is perfect and that he has sent his son to save us when we mess up. It means loving his children. It is extremely hard to follow your heart. Every turn there is someone or something trying to convince you that it is sinful or that you need to grow up. Satan’s influence is strong.
But how do we walk the fine line between following our desires and avoiding sin? Focus on God first and he will provide the desires that we seek. If we focus only on the desires, they become idols rather than the blessings they were meant to be.
When we focus on the desires first, those things become substitutes to make us happy rather than delighting in the God’s grace and forgiveness.
Psalm 37:4
4 Delight yourself in the LORD
I go to bed at night with a burning in my heart. I wake up in the morning feeling like there is something more. Like life is meant to be passionate and full of adventure. So often we are told to settle down, to be careful, to watch our step, don’t sit so close to the tv. God created in us a deep desire to live and a deep desire for certain things, this often goes hand in hand with their spiritual gifts. For people who are gifted with counseling, they love to see others heal themselves and grow. For those who are good craftsmen, they love to build. When we dismiss our desire as a “temptation to sin” we suppress God’s call to live a full life.
One of my biggest fears is that my desire will continue to be dismissed as immaturity and unrealistic passion and that I will begin to believe those lies. In all reality, I have already started believing that my desire is something that should be harnessed and kept under wraps. We grow up being told to believe in our dreams, shoot for the stars, love with all our hearts. But then we are told to be realistic, to have a backup plan, to take out insurance policies. We are too worried about living safe, boring, unpassionate lives. This has become such a norm in our society that I feel ashamed to follow my desire. And the older you get, the more you are labeled immature and flakey. Yet at the same time, deep down in everyone’s heart is a longing to be “that guy.” To be the guy that lives a simple yet passionate life, following his heart and not always having a plan. The difference between an immature adult and one seeking the desire that God intended for us is that maturity means putting your faith in God. It means knowing that God takes pleasure in seeing us living passionate lives. It means knowing that his plan is perfect and that he has sent his son to save us when we mess up. It means loving his children. It is extremely hard to follow your heart. Every turn there is someone or something trying to convince you that it is sinful or that you need to grow up. Satan’s influence is strong.
But how do we walk the fine line between following our desires and avoiding sin? Focus on God first and he will provide the desires that we seek. If we focus only on the desires, they become idols rather than the blessings they were meant to be.
When we focus on the desires first, those things become substitutes to make us happy rather than delighting in the God’s grace and forgiveness.
Psalm 37:4
4 Delight yourself in the LORD
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Psalm 145:16
16 You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing.
I could be completely off base with my interpretation. But as I seek to figure it out, God delights in my struggle to go from crawling to walking to running. He doesn' t laugh when I fall down. He picks me up and says try again. I will try again and again.
1 comments:
I really appreciate what you had to say. Way to put your heart and the heart of so many other people out there. Remember that God is the God of adventure and not always a plan - look at Abraham - he didn't give him the plan or expect him to get one. God just said "GO" and he did. He will do the same for you
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