Leonid Padun: "God and our desires"
18 October 2012
Captured by desires
Everyone on this earth is driven by his or her desires, such as to have a family, a house, a car, to be healthy and successful and so on. And God is not against our desires. He even encourages us, “Ask, and it shall be given unto you”, “All things whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believe that you receive them -and you will have them”. God is always ready to bless. Then why sometimes we don’t have what we want?
Let’s start with the basics. God is the God of order. Unlike us, He has no chaos or confusion and, above all, He wants to put our lives in order.
What is usually in the lead in people’s lives? Their desires. “I want to get married so badly! I want an apartment! Oh how I want a car!”. All thoughts and efforts are focused only on how to achieve the desired at any cost. People become slaves to their own desires which in turn control and rule lives. This is considered normal. The phrase “my life, my rules” has become a guiding principle.
But life goes by, and even if we do manage to achieve something, instead of the long-awaited joy come sadness and disappointment … The very thing you could “grab” is often destroying your life and it is for one reason – something was wrong at the beginning.
Does God want you to be killed by your desires? Of course not. He wants us to be happy and content. He offers His order of getting things accomplished, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will fulfill the desires ofyour heart” (Ps.36: 4). First God and only then our desires, and not vice versa..
You can be happy and completely satisfied if you change the priorities in life by putting God in the first place. This is not His whim, but our safety, security, and the only way to success.
Delight yourself in the Lord
What does it mean “to delight in the Lord”? Many believe it means “to calm down”, “to dry the tears”. And to some extent this is true. But, for example, when we read in the Bible, “rejoice in the wife of your youth” (“delight” in Russian Bible), it is clear that the Scripture does not speak of tears. We are talking about something more – of pleasure. It is possible to take pleasure in and to enjoy God!
First, we can enjoy the Lord by abiding in His Word. Jesus Christ said, “If any man thirst, let him come to Me and drink”, and “My words are spirit and life”. The Word of God has an amazing power to give pleasure!
Also we can enjoy God in worship. When we put everything aside, focus all of our attention on God and worship Him, then comes the inner sweetness, the satisfaction, which cannot be described in words.
But what about our desires? While we enjoy God, He is doing something with our heart. First of all, we are being freed from sinful desires, the lusts of the flesh, from everything that is born out of jealousy and rivalry. As a result, we sleep peacefully, not suffering the thoughts of how to “outdo” that neighbor with his new car, apartment, etc.
Secondly, God puts the right desires in our heart and He watches over their fulfillment. People often struggle for years to achieve certain things, but God can bring this about faster and in His way. You simply ask for something from the Lord and keep on serving Him in peace. The time will come and it’ll come true.
The Bible says that “the blessing of the Lord enriches and brings no grief…” (Pr.10: 22). Everything that comes from God brings no worries or sleepless nights along. When we get something from God it’s better than you could ever imagine, and there is no fear of losing it.
Many people do not believe that it’s possible. Human logic cannot comprehend God’s “paradox”: you let your desires go, and they are fulfilled. But it works! You can choose to doubt it or you can choose to obey God’s Word and see it firsthand.
