God Given Desires

Cycle of Desires: God’s Promises – Part 2 of 5

 

Cycle of DesiresOur God-given desires are bolstered by God’s Promises.  Psalm 37:4 says, “Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.”[i]  This is God’s precious Promise to us…that when we delight ourselves in Him, He will give us the very desires of our heart.

Psalm 145:19 reiterates that promise by telling us that “He fulfills the desires of those who fear Him.”[ii]  I have always been encouraged by the fact that both verses use the word “desires” and not the word “desire.”  I would hate to have to narrow my desire list down to my one or two favorites!

But I am even more encouraged by the fact that no desire is ever placed in us by the Holy Spirit unless He intends to fulfill it.  He isn’t putting desires in our hearts just so He can squash our hopes and dreams like little bugs.  No!  He breathes heavenly life into our hearts so we continue to look forward with hope to the fulfillment of those things we long for the most.

We have a perfect example of God delivering on His Promises with Abraham.  God promised Abraham in Genesis 12:1-2 that he would be the father of a “great nation”, and yet the months turned into years with no sign of fatherhood on the horizon.[iii] Eventually, Abraham bore a son with Hagar, but God again told him in Genesis 15:4, “This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.”[iv]  Again, more years pass by with no son.   At this point, the Lord called out to Abraham and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them…. [s]o shall your offspring be.”[v]

The years continue to drag on and at this point Abraham is 100 years old and Sarai, his wife, is 90 years old.  Now granted, people lived very long lives back in this day and age.  Even with that in mind, the 90-100 age range would not have one classified as a “spring chicken.”  In fact, at this point in her life, Sarai was medically unable to bear a child.

But God perhaps knowing how human doubt can creep in, again returned to Abraham and said, “As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah.16  I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her.  I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her.”

Not only was God specific about the blood line that would come from Sarah’s womb, he was also specific about the WHO and the WHEN.  In terms of the WHO, God had specific instructions for Abraham regarding the boy’s name, saying “your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac.”[vi]  In terms of the WHEN, God was even specific in the timing saying, “I will return to you at the appointed time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”[vii]

In all, God came to Abraham four different times to reinforce His Promise for Abraham’s future.  And those promises all came true…down to the very last detail.  Even when everything looked bleak and the sun had set on what was medically possible, God’s promise was a guarantee.

[i] NIV Psalm 37:4

[ii] NIV Psalm 145:19

[iii] NIV Genesis 12:1-2

[iv] NIV Genesis 15:4

[v] NIV Genesis 15:5

[vi] NIV Genesis 17:15-19

[vii] NIV Genesis 18:10-14

Cycle of Desires: God Given Desires – Part 1 of 5

One of the hardest things to do is to wait for the deepest desires and longings of our hearts to be fulfilled.  We know that God is the Giver of Dreams and the One who has placed desires deep inside each one of our hearts.  He has given us gifts, skills, and talents that we dream about using in different ways.  He even gives us dreams about our future in terms of relationships and family. I am convinced that God allows desires to rise up at different times in different seasons of our lives.  When we think about it, God perfectly times those desires in our lives.  As an example, when we were in high school, our desire was to have fun, get good grades, and participate in different school activities.  We weren’t focused on landing the right job, finding our mate, buying a house, or starting a family.  Those type of desires would come, but they would come at the right time and in the right season. Sometimes the season is quickly upon us, and our desires hit with such urgency it is hard to fathom.  It is almost as if the Lord literally allows them to be awakened out of a deep sleep.  And we cry out to the Lord to have those desires met. I believe there is a process that we often go through that I will label the Cycle of Desires (Figure 1) that begins with those God-given desires.   Cycle of Desires

Figure 1: Cycle of Desires

     More on the Cycle of Desires later this week…….