08/26/2021
When we first come to know Jesus, what are our desires? What is it that we want from the relationship that has drawn us to Him? When we pledge ourselves to follow Him, and go down in the waters of baptism, we begin a spiritual transformation that changes who we are, and it alters our initial desires as well. In this way, after we have walked with Jesus for a while, we find that perhaps some of our earlier wants were satisfied, but that a great many of them have fallen to the wayside… they fell victim to our change; our blossoming righteousness; our purification, and the will of God.
“Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”
Psalm 37:4 ESV
We enter into our relationship with Jesus thinking that we really know Him, and with a preconceived notion of Him; we think we know His will, and what He offers us. We do this in much the same way that a young newlywed couple enters into their marital relationship only to find that this person who they felt they knew so well is quite different in many ways. They begin individually with desires and dreams of what their marriage will be like, and how their lives, and relationship, will unfold, but once they become one flesh they find that the two wills they walked into marriage with must now be refined, joined together, and become one, if their relationship is to survive. This is a difficult lesson, and requires some heat to be applied to it… the two wills are melted together, like a miner melts gold, and the impurities come to the surface where they can be removed… leaving pure gold.
“Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.”
Psalm 37:5-6 ESV
Jesus Christ, and God, bring purity, light, and perfection into our relationship, and when we first kneel at the altar, we find that we are far from pure, and must be melted down, so that our impurities can be removed, and we can be recast in their image. In this way our will is transformed, and becomes theirs, and our desires are theirs as well. In the end we find that the sinful things we once desired have been burnt away, the things we once liked, and wanted, but were not good for our bodies, the temple of the Holy Spirit, and our souls, have faded away. Our unrighteous selves have become righteous, and our prayers are being answered according to His Will…
“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”
Romans 8:26-27 ESV
More often than not we initially come to faith as an escape from suffering and trouble. Our desire for the relationship is to be rescued, and released from some thing, or situation, that is tormenting us in our lives. Let’s each ask ourselves what brought us to our faith in God; what led us to follow Jesus. Was it loneliness, financial hardship, sickness, or perhaps the need to be loved? I dare say that we came with some kind of need, some emptiness that needed to be filled, or a longing that we wanted satisfied. Now look back on that day, and ask yourself how much of that desire was immediately satisfied, and how much just faded away as if it no longer mattered… now compare those things with the will of God and ask yourself which of them brought you into a closer relationship with the Lord… were these the things that most matched what God would have wanted for His child; for those who run to Him for protection?
“The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; he is their stronghold in the time of trouble. The Lord helps them and delivers them; he delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in him.”
Psalm 37:39-40 ESV
Oh how we have been changed over the months and years with Him. Our faith has grown as the maturity of our spiritual transformation has progressed. How amazing it is to see that our will has become more, and more, as His will, and our prayer life has become much more satisfying as a result. We are no longer newlyweds, but are like an old married couple that now thinks alike, talks alike, walks with the same stride, eats the same foods, and yes, has many of the same wants, and desires. What they once thought a marriage should be has faded into the past, and a new and more fulfilling vision has overtaken them… born of trials, fire, and the sacrifice of one’s self for the other.
What are our expectations of God, Jesus, and our relationship with them? Are we yielding to the spiritual transformation that will make us righteous, Holy, and lead us to be conformed perfectly to God’s will, or are we still holding onto that preconceived notion that faith is meant to serve us? Are we still entrenched in our desire to satisfy own will, and frustrated in our prayer closet?
“And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.”
1 John 5:14 ESV
Prayer:
Father, thank you for our transformation into new creatures when we accept Jesus Christ as our savior. Thank you for recreating us day by day as you free us from our old worldly selves, and desires. Though the process can be challenging and difficult from time to time, even painful, you give us the strength, and determination to press on, and become one flesh, and one spirit, with Jesus… abiding in Him, and He in us, then, through His abiding in you, we too come to abide in you. For this we praise your name, and in this way we glorify you. Wash us clean in the blood of Jesus, and open our hearts, minds, and souls to your will. Teach us to become obedient to it just as Jesus is. Bring us before you Lord, and call us your own. Grant us eternity with you Father, and let us walk with you through it… our stride matching yours.
Rich Forbes