What was the last thing that you really wanted? I mean something that you thought about day and night. Planned and dreamed for. Hoped and prayed for. The thing that you believed would change everything. In today’s society we are overstimulated with the feeling of desire. Desire itself isn’t a bad thing. More often than not, we as people inherently desire good things. We want to get into a good school to achieve a good education, so we can have a good career, and ultimately a good life. We want the boyfriend or girlfriend that will ultimately become the husband or wife. We want the family so that we can raise them well to be loving and kind to the world they were brought into. We want to have a nice body, for the sake of health of course, but looking good isn’t a bad perk either. Yet, we have seen time and time again that our natural pattern of desire can be heightened to unhealthy doses. This is where we go from a place of desiring good things to striving for good things. This is the place where we overwork ourselves and overlook others to get to the things, people, and opportunities that we naturally desired in the first place. We have grown to believe that good things come by the work of our own hands and the sweat of our own brows, which is partially true. The principle of ‘no man eats unless he works’ and ‘faith without works is dead’ are effective in the way of the world and God’s kingdom.
I would say that based on the actions a person takes toward what they’re hoping for in life, one could tell in what or whom their faith lies. Show me someone who is always looking for overtime hours to make more money, I’d say their faith lies in the hours they work for their ultimate provision. Show me a person who turns to a drink at the first sign of stress, I’d say their faith lies in alcohol to ease their troubles. The big idea is that we want good things. It’s normal to desire comfort, provision, protection, love. But what if we have been deceived in our thinking of where the good things in our lives come from? What if a false belief has now pushed us into a place of striving for goodness instead of into a position of receiving goodness? James 1:16-17 clarifies, “Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”
Every good gift. Not some. Not Half. Not almost all–but every gift. Every. I wonder how the satisfaction of our souls and the enjoyment of our lives would change if we believed that every good desire we’ve ever had and will ever have can be satisfied by our Father in Heaven. Would you bring to Him the desire for your spouse, child, dream job, community, healing, miracle–even if it meant laying down what you think the good gift would be or look like? Consider trusting in the One who gives every good and perfect gift, the One who knows the best way and time to uniquely satisfy your very longing. Ultimately, all longings are quenched with His goodness. When we find ourselves looking to fulfill our own gift request, I hope that we will remember to look above with open hands and open hearts to accept the good and perfect gifts that our Father has already positioned us to receive.
By Miranda Johnson-Phillips June 2024