John 10:10 is a verse of scripture that is probably on every believer’s list of ‘scripture favs’. In this verse, our Master Jesus speaks so plainly about who the devil is and what the devil came to do; and most importantly, Jesus Christ tells us very poignantly why he, himself, came to the earth as well. Jesus left God’s throne to come here and make a more than abundant life available to anyone who desires it. Before he came, salvation was not available. In other words, before the finished work of Jesus Christ, no person could be born-again; therefore, people could not have the kind of intimacy and relationship with Heavenly Father that He wanted. Those living back then wanted a whole lot of other things. They wanted riches, power, notoriety, and success just as many of us do today, but without a hunger for God in their hearts, their other desires went empty and unfulfilled. This is a truth many of us must deal with when it comes to our own desires and dreams today.
God is in the blessing business, this none of us can deny. 2Corinthians 9:8 tells us that He’s our Sufficiency. He is our sole Provider and Source of all good things, but it is also very important for us to understand that every blessing in the earth doesn’t have our name on it. Every blessing isn’t in alignment with our destiny, even though sometimes we are convinced that it is.
1Corinthians 14:33 tells us that God is not the author of confusion and chaos. God will not make moves that are out of alignment with the order of His Word. He loves order! Order is His nature, and this is one of the most important truths we must consider as we hold our desires under a microscope. This means that you and I have to look at and aspire to things like organization, consistency, appropriateness, harmony, and discipline. These are grown-up words, and they exude authority. Make no mistake, God is a Rewarder, but He is a Rewarder of diligent effort. He rewards good stewardship, management, and oversight. Blessings are set to automatic when we are walking in the authority of Jesus Christ, and this is achieved through the faith and love that comes from spiritual discipline.
Spiritual Maturity
In Act 17:24-25(NLT), the Apostle Paul said about our Heavenly Father, “He is the God who made the world and everything in it. Since he is Lord of heaven and earth, he doesn’t live in man-made temples, and human hands can’t serve his needs—for he has no needs. He himself gives life and breath to everything, and he satisfies every need.” There’s a certain level of arrogance that has become bred into our psyche over the years, and it has crept in because we think that God needs something from us in order to add to or simply be who He is. This is what we think either consciously or subconsciously. Some will think their lives are plagued by spiritual warfare because God needs them to do things in the body that no one else can or will do. Others will think their call, title, or office in the body of Christ is higher than those of others.
The truth is that the role of the person who keeps the bathrooms clean in our places of worship is no less important in God’s eyes than the person who stands before the many to deliver a sermon. Both roles are equally important, and Heavenly Father looks at the degree of humility and desire to serve in judging our faithfulness. We can see so clearly here that spiritual priorities are not set by you and me. God sets them. He knows when we are desiring good things for the wrong reasons. He knows when we have not prioritized our relationship with Him appropriately, when we desire the blessing more than we do the Blesser.
There must be a willingness on our parts to let go and let God when it comes to certain aspects of our desires and dreams. They may need to be tweaked according to the spiritual priorities Heavenly Father has ordained for our lives. Perhaps more humility is required of us, maybe our hearts need to be filled with more love. Only God knows.
He knows what is best for us. He knows what will fill our hearts with joy. Most importantly, He knows what it takes to help us keep our relationship with Him on solid ground. Rather than becoming impatient or disappointed when things don’t happen on our timeline, let’s be patient with the process. Never loose faith. God is working in us through the power of the Holy Spirit, and He’s also working out all the other details of our desires and dreams. He is making all things come together in our lives according to the perfection of His divine plan.■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“Sometimes our Desires and Dreams Need to Be Tweaked”, written by Reverend Fran Mack, edited by Kim Times for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2019. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! SMS is dedicated to inspiring and encouraging Christian Women through the Word of God.