Desires

Cycle of Desires: Waiting – Part 3 of 5

Cycle of DesiresWaiting

            God’s Promises are a signed, sealed guarantee, but often so is the waiting that accompanies them.  Like we see with Abraham, sometimes God gives us promises far in advance of their fulfillment to give us hope for our future and stability during our present pain.  But He still makes us wait and wait and wait for them – to the point we honestly believe our hearts will explode with anxiety or pain.  See, it’s in our hearts where our deepest desires reside and therefore it is the most vulnerable of places for us.

But because those desires are in the most vulnerable of places and are often the most important to us, they are also of utmost importance to God.  And He is never inactive in our waiting time, even when He calls us to be still.  In fact, He absolutely loves to work for those who will wait for Him.

Although He may not explain all of His purposes to us as He has us in this season of waiting, there is always a reason.  I am sure that Abraham would have gladly relived each and every day of waiting, knowing the joy that his son Isaac brought him for the rest of his days.  Even though the waiting felt like an eternity, Isaac was worth waiting for.

God has something worth us waiting for too.  I was driving to a function the other day, and praying while I drove.  Much of my time spent driving involves me praying that I don’t get a ticket, but on this particular trip I was bearing my soul to the Lord in terms of my desires and longing for a family.  And that’s when the Lord laid it on my heart, “I am making you wait because there is something worth waiting for.”  There is something worth waiting for. It’s kind of hard to argue with that, and so I have no choice but to wait.

There are days I feel much like I am sure Sarai felt….a bit past my prime in terms of the timeline of my hopes and dreams…a bit on the wrong side of where I would like to be.  But that’s when God does something to remind me of the promises He has given me.  That’s when He reminds me that my waiting will produce a joy that I will carry with me for the rest of my life.

 

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…….