My Desire Is to Know God’s Purpose
I’ve been listening to Jeremy Camp in my car this past week, and one song in particular spoke to me. “My Desire” expresses how I feel about my life and my God. I want my life to be real. I want to set aside all of my pride and embrace humility. I want my life to have purpose, the purpose that God has set before me. I want to be free. This song provides the means for achieving all these goals and desires: “lay it all down before the King.”
You want to be real
You want to be empty inside
You want to be someone laying down your pride
You want to be someone someday
Then lay it all down before the King
You want to be whole
You want to have purpose inside
You want to have virtue and purify your mind
You want to be set free today
Then lay it all down before the King
Without Jesus, it is impossible to be completely real because a part of me would always be false. Without the King of kings, it is impossible to be whole because He is an essential piece of my being. Without the Christ, it is impossible to set aside pride because He grants humility and shines His light on the pride deep within my heart. Without the Lord, it is impossible to be whole because He is what completes me. Without His Holy Spirit, it is impossible to have virtue and a pure mind because He reveals that which must be washed away by the blood of the lamb.
On our own, we can try to find purpose, to be humble, to be virtuous. But in the end all we will end up with is an inferior purpose, pride in our ability to achieve that purpose, and a mind corrupted by the world that applauds that purpose. I’ve tried things on my own and found less than what I truly desire. I was left empty, but not in the way I desire to be or in the way Camp refers to in this song.
Life without Jesus is an endless striving for more, a reaching for something to fill us up. We must be emptied of all that is worldly so that we might be filled with His love, mercy, grace, and compassion. We must let go of what we think we desire so that He might place in our hearts a greater desire to be a blessing in this world for His sake.
What is your desire? Do you seek to find what God’s purpose is for you? Do you desire to be set free? Then lay all your life, all your love, all your sins, all your pain, all your struggles, all your striving down before the King. He will give you the desires of your heart.
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.
Psalm 37:3-4 (NIV)
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I am happy I came across this blog. It gives me the assurance that without Jesus, I am empty. He gives me purpose and he keeps me focused. I pray that more people will thirst for HIM and find HIM, or have a desire for HIM and say again, ‘That I may know him and the power of his resurrection’.
Thanks for stopping by and leaving such a nice comment! And also for causing me to go back and reread this post that I wrote almost a year ago. It is good to be reminded that He is our true purpose in this life, to know Him and the power of His resurrection, indeed! Peace, Linda
You said, “Without Jesus, it is impossible to be completely real because a part of me would always be false.” I couldn’t help but be struck by that.
I don’t want to sound boastful, but I have been called “real” on many occasions. I try not to hide behind a mask of piety, but admit my sinful humanity. If anything, my desire is to display before others a total dependence on God for any goodness they see.
Still, there are secrets. Still, there are dark places in my life that I want no one to see. As much as I hate to admit it, there are some areas in my life that require “unreality.” Because of the position I am in as a pastor, I am constantly put on a pedestal, especially by those who think I have some special connection, like a hotline, to Jesus. If they only new my faults, many would falter – because they look at ME…ME! If they could only see Jesus! Your words remind me that those dark places that the Spirit still fights for are little pieces of Jesus that are being hid. Sadly, for some, that may be the part of Jesus they “really” need to see.
I can relate to those “secrets” that only God knows, but because of certain relationships we keep hidden. I am on the Board of Elders at my church, and so I understand how others can put church leaders on a pedestal. I think, though, that it is important to step down from that pedestal, to refuse to be kept there, so that others can see that part of you (and me) that really struggles and must rely every moment of every day on the grace of Jesus.
For me, it is with my son that I am more likely to hide my faults and my past sins. He looks to me and sees someone with a special connection to Jesus, and I fear that if he really knew what I’ve not shared, then he would falter. But I have been pondering lately that maybe, just maybe, it is those faults and Jesus’ response to those faults that he needs to see to help him mature in his faith. Maybe I am doing him a disservice by hiding those flaws that I need Jesus to fix, those false parts of me that I need Jesus to route out with His truth. And maybe, just maybe, it’s the same with the members of your congregation that you fear letting know the real you. Peace, Linda
There is so much truth in what you say here!
No matter how much we achieve in life all is vain unless God is in control; unless we are in His perfect will.
I think of Paul’s words in Philippians 3:10 “That I may KNOW HIM”
Surely Paul already knew Him! Surely Paul knew Him better than most people! But Paul’s desire is to KNOW HIM.
One day we will know Him and we will be like Him, but while we are here on earth, as His ambassadors, we need to constantly desire to know Him and to know His will and purpose for us. How can we do this? Only, as you say, by laying our whole selves on the altar, counting ourselves as dead, crucified with Christ.
Some would say this is negative; this is a joyless life; but we KNOW that God only wants the very best for us; that the way of His choosing is the very best path for us and the most satisfying life. Oh that our mental acceptance of this fact would ALWAYS kick in to ensure we follow His will!
Thank you for adding that bit about Paul. What a great illustration of one who, as you say, KNEW Jesus and yet still desired to know Him more. It is sad that so many forego the truly joyful and abundant life God has planned while striving after earthly happiness apart from God. I know I am not there yet, I don’t fully know God yet, but desiring to know Him has been such a blessing in my life. And I see a little more of Him each day. Peace, Linda
Your post is so timely for me! Those are all the things that I desire too. It’s easy for me to lay it all down and trust Him . . .in that moment. It’s harder for me to walk out that trust that He is working and doing those things that I desire . . .especially when hard things happen.
God bless you and your desires for Him and more of Him.
Deb, It is hard for me, too, to walk out that complete trust in His plan and purpose. But the more I truly rely on Him, the easier it seems to be. I just experienced that with My Tuesday Three that I’m working on for tomorrow. I spent more time stressing about whether I would find three related posts than it took Him to lead me right to them. And appropriately, they are all about trusting more in Him. 🙂 Peace, Linda
Thank you, Linda
This makes for very good conversation! Thanks for sharing 🙂
You have me scratching my head and raising my eyebrows. (The wheels are turning over at an alarming rate! 🙂 )
“We must let go of what we think we desire so that He might place in our hearts a greater desire to be a blessing in this world for His sake.”
Hmmm… this resonates with me. 🙂 I remember reading a note that said “Hannah wanted a son, God wanted a prophet…” I am learning to ask Him for what He wants in what I think I need…. I may be looking for a job but He needs a sympathetic ear for someone who’s been praying for a Christian to work alongside them. I may want to avoid a medical procedure when He needs someone to share hope with a despondent doctor. Who knows? We probably never know until we get over yonder 🙂
Being where He wants us to be
I am praying your note as a prayer. Thanks for putting this out today.
Blessings,
ann
Ann, What a great comment! It is so true, we pray for one thing but His purpose will be accomplished by something entirely different. This weekend I think I saw the beginnings of His answer to one of my prayers for a loved one. The answer is not unfolding as I had thought it should or would, but I can see His hand in it nonetheless. I look forward to the day “we get over yonder” and can see the big picture of what God has done. Peace, Linda
Great to see this post! I get so excited when I hear about other people embracing God’s plan for their lives! I recently started a blog about my husband and I seeking God’s will, especially in regards to his music career. I’m going to share your post with him!
Thanks for stopping by and commenting. I have found that God’s plan and purpose is so much more wonderful than what I could possibly think of on my own. That is great that you have started a blog. I’d love to check it out. Peace, Linda