“Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at sea. We are far too easily pleased.” C. S. Lewis
Before reading chapter 2, I too, fell into the trap of thinking that embracing my God given desires was a wrong thing. Some powerful truths that struck me in this chapter were:
“God is a passionate being, and the Bible is the canvas of his passion. We cannot hope to grow more like Christ without discovering the depths of passion and longing. It is the golden cord of our connection to God–and to each other.”
“Like many people I saw desire as the enemy.”
“When we are wholly His we will be more ourselves than ever!”
“The real villain is more willful. I will make it happen-my idea, my way, my timing. Self-will always dispenses with trust. And when we won’t trust God, we take matters into our own hands.”
“It’s as though God has given each of us a song to sing, and He is the choir director. He motions when it’s time to sound our notes and when to keep silent. He knows exactly how the song needs to be sung. We don’t want to make the mistake of repenting of the song itself. He lays the desires and longings on our hearts. The song, then, is what we sing to His glory.”
“Desire is the tug of your heart to get in the game. I wish I could tell you that God would fulfill all your desires, but then we would be talking not about God, but a genie in a bottle. No, He says, ‘Delight yourself in the LORD; and He will give you the desires of your heart.’ As You bring your heart to God, He will place His desire in you to such an extent that your desire becomes His for you. So when you pray about a longing, and the desire remains, you can trust that God has left it there for a reason.”
So I’m trying to find the balance between not deadening my desires, while at the same time, not letting those desires become addictions and prideful-willful control over my life.
The bible says that my heart is desperately wicked. So, can I trust in my desires alone. NO WAY! Basing our life-decisions on emotions can lead us on a roller coaster ride of disaster. No, instead, I need to filter my desires through God’s Word. Not deny them. Not repent of the desire itself, but letting my Heavenly Father direct my life’s song.
Have you read this book? Did you want to jump on board? We are only on chapter 2, so there is still time to catch up. Check out the bloom club here:
Strong Women, Soft Hearts Chapter 2 Discussion from angie smith on Vimeo.
