Desires

So lately I have been struggling with the idea of wanting things I can't have, for some reason or another.  Haven't we all been there?  Especially in a world of social media I think it makes the phenomenon worse.  We see someone post their brand new car and we wish we could have one too, but we can't afford a payment.  Or you are on diet and for some reason all of your Facebook friends decide to post Instagram pictures of their greasy, horribly fattening dinners that look oh so delicious.  Maybe the all the weddings going on make a single person crazy when you see the happy, perfectly edited wedding photos.  That was one I struggled with a lot before my wedding.  Why can't I get married NOW?  There are always going to be things we want that we just can't have for reasons that are often out of our control.  Or maybe we just need to wait a little longer...whatever the reason, it can be infuriating.

I have also been exploring the word desire.  According to dictionary.com, it can be used as either a verb or noun so I will provide both:

Verb:

to wish or long for; crave; want. 

Noun:
a longing or craving, as for something that brings satisfaction or enjoyment:

I like the "longing or craving".  It is not just a passive "Oh, my desire is to eat a Big Mac today".  It's something that we hold dear in our heart, i.e. "My desire is as new job, a home, a significant other, a wedding, a baby"... and the list goes on.  

God talks a lot about desire.  According to bibletools.com, there are 27 different words used in the Old Testament that translate to desire.  Maybe sometimes it is described as a good thing or a bad thing, but it is definitely something human.  We all desire something. 

The reality is we are made to desire God.

So is it wrong to long and crave all the other things you want?  No, certainly not, unless it becomes bigger to you than your love for God.  The problem is, with the world we live in where our success in life is based on what we gain and how quickly we gain it, we lose sight of God.  I am guilty of this.  Today I spent a lot of time in prayer and reflection.  Here is what I believe God told me.  

Psalm 37:4 says: "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.'

This verse spoke to me not because I thought it is some way I can manipulate God into giving me what I want.  No, He knows if I am faking it.  He wants me to truly delight in Him.  He wants me to put all my other wants and desires second to Him.  Even if I have nothing, God is still there and He still loves me.  I think of Job, who lost everything he had and still blessed God.  Because God is the most important and He deserves our devout love.  

Not only does God want us to delight ourselves in Him, but He delights in us.  We are a chosen people, bought with a price.  God makes it clear many times in the Bible that he shaped us in His image, that he knew us before we were even in our mother's wombs.  He loves us, greater than anyone ever has or will.  Who cannot help delighting in someone who would do all that?

So all this to say, desires can be something that trap us all into a mode of self-pity and jealousy.  However, if we align ourselves with God's Word and delight in the fact that He has already blessed us immensely, it becomes easier to hand those desires over to Him.  We wants to give us the desires of our heart, but He wants us to learn to delight in Him and only Him first.  Can I be happy with what God has chosen to give me?  Honestly, it's hard.  Personally I am struggling right now with my own desires and trying to align them with God's will.  But I honestly take comfort in delighting in who God is and how much He loves me.  The other things will follow.