OUR DESIRES AND THE WILL OF GOD
Our desires and the will of God:
As children of God, we have our own desires which we want to achieve and on the other side of the coin, God also has some desires (will) for our lives. How do these two desires relate to each other? Our desires and the will of God is necessary to treat as a topic.
In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus Christ prayed that God spares Him the trouble of dying on the cross, however, He concluded His prayer by saying that not His will but the will of the Father be done (Luke 22:42). He finally went to the cross in order for mankind to be saved- that is, He submitted His will to that of the Father. Abraham loved Isaac but he was willing to submit to the will of the Father by offering Isaac as sacrifice.
Our personal desires have a place in the will of God. Several scriptures confirm this point. “Delight thyself also in the Lord; and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart”( Psalms 37:4). Proverbs 10:24; Psalms 145:15 and Matthew 7 all talks about our personal desires. However, a very important prerequisite is required for our personal desires to come to pass. God asked Solomon his heart desire(s) as a king. Instead of asking for the ‘usual desires of man’ which include fame, riches, power etc., Solomon asked for wisdom to rule God’s people. God was pleased with his request so He granted it in addition to the ‘usual desires of man’. As we walk closely with God, our personal desires and His desires merge. We will be more inclined to fulfill His desires and as we do, our personal desires are also met. These personal desires must be within the confines of the bible. For instance, a personal desire to commit robbery or adultery is unacceptable and has to be dropped.
Indeed “it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13). Walking closely with God and in God results in a situation where His will originates from our personal will and spirits. It will be more of an ‘inside-out’ scenario instead of ‘outside-in’ scenario. It will become a personal relationship to do from within rather than being compelled from without to do something.
Sometimes, if not most of the time, the choice is ours because God has given us the privilege of choice. Solomon had the choice to make a request from God as a new king. Base on his choice, God opened the windows of heaven and blessed him to the point that he became the wisest and richest king who ever lived on earth before the coming of Jesus Christ. Our choices must be inspired by the revealed word and the presence of the Holy Spirit in us. As you meditate on this article, you will know how to manage your desires and the will of God.
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