Encounter Jesus

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Values/Mission
  • Ben's Blog
  • Prayer

The Desires of My Heart

5/15/2012

1 Comment

 
James 1:12-18 
    Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. 
    Don't be deceived, my dear brothers. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created. (NIV– emphasis added)

This is a very intriguing passage. It flies in the face of what I have believed for several years. See, I thought that I should pursue the desires of my heart, my passion, so that I could walk in the true gifting that God has given me. After all, I do believe that God is the one that gave those desires and passions. I strongly believe God has wired me in such a way that I can quickly identify zeal, passion, and desire in my heart. Unfortunately, if I am in full pursuit of desire, I am on the road to death.

So, what is the balance? If God is the one who wired me to have certain desires, how can that lead to death? James does a brilliant job of clarifying the real issue. It isn’t that God wired me so I am susceptible to certain temptations as a result of my wiring. It is that I become intently focused on those desires. This misdirected focus drags me away, entices me, and leads me away from God. The wiring is inherently good because every perfect gift… read perfect desire… is from God. When God is the central desire of my heart, the zeal leads to a kind of firstfruits of all He created because He has given us birth through the word of truth. It all comes back to Him!

Psalm 37:3-7 
    Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. 
    Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. (NIV – emphasis added)

When I focus on my desires and chasing my dreams, something critical is missing... God. In my pursuit, I am elevating the zeal to a level higher than God. My focus is satisfying my own passion rather than trusting God to do this as he promised. I am removing him from a most important equation and inserting self. It is no wonder that my desires bring forth death.

Delight yourself in the Lord. Then, watch what he does. While you are watching, delight yourself in the Lord. After all, isn’t he enough to satisfy your every desire?
1 Comment
Kristi link
5/15/2012 11:29:50 am

If you have a dream in your heart, God put it there! Dreams don’t occur by accident. If you have a something deep down in the innermost part of you that won’t let go…that you like to talk about – even if you’re exhausted at night, knowing you have to get up early…if you have something like that in your heart, God put that there!

Honor it!

I love the blog Ben!!

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    Author

    Ben's deepest passion is to help people find life and hope through a deeply intimate relationship with God. He is committed to helping men lead their families, churches, businesses and communities. He is a pastor, certified Balanced Scorecard Master Professional, and has an advanced certification in Christian life coaching. He uses his skills associated with strategic planning/execution, continuous quality improvement and life coaching to provide hope to at-risk juveniles and their families. By helping them change their life course by making better choices, the church thrives! Be also provides executive coaching, individual mentoring/ discipleship, and retreat facilitation. As a former United States Marine, Ben is passionate about helping current service members, veterans, at-risk youth, and ministry leaders experience the abundant life available only through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Ben understands the many demands associated with balancing faith, family and career.

    Ben is married to his beautify wife, Sandy, and is the father of three children, ages 17, 14 and 8. He enjoys jogging, skiing, camping, and other family activities. He serves as
    the President and ministry leader for Encounter Jesus Inc.

    Archives

    September 2014
    April 2014
    August 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    July 2012
    May 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012

    Categories

    All
    #EJChallenge
    Encounter Jesus
    Hearing God's Voice
    Personal Prayer
    Spirit Living
    The Power Of God

    RSS Feed