Studies in Christian Freedom and Liberty – Part 5 GOD-GIVEN DESIRES

Many people have a misunderstanding of the above verse. It is not if we delight ourselves in the Lord, He will give us what we desire, but rather the desires themselves will be implanted in our hearts by God. As we delight ourselves in the Lord, His interests become our interests and His desires become our desires. The very desire, the will, is God-given.

When we ask God to show us His will, we often want Him to give us a road map, but what He is more likely to give us is a compass. We do not need to know all the twists and turns along the way, but we need to know the direction. In Acts 26:19, Paul makes the statement to King Agrippa, “I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven”, which puts him in a long line of men and women who began with the end in mind. They had listened as God revealed His plan and purpose, and lived with this insight tucked away, pursuing the vision, but awaiting His timing for it to be fully brought to fruition.

Paul did not have any advance knowledge of the details of his life, but only the compass bearing that was set by the Lord Jesus on the Damascus Road, which continued to be the governing principle of Paul’s vocation. He was not motivated by a desire to travel, or an ambition to establish a network of churches. His obligation derived from his vision, expressed in his sense of purpose and destiny. He was not a driven man so much as a drawn man, drawn by the power of a God-given desire for which he relentlessly gave his time and energy.

The journey had been long and lonely, the road steep and hard, but Paul had run the road Jesus Christ had set him on and he was satisfied. He writes to Timothy, “For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day” (2 Timothy 4:6-8).

The clear vision of what Paul’s future would consist of is not unique in Scripture. Many leading characters: Abraham, Joseph, Moses, David, Mary, and Joseph all started with the end in mind… a God-given desire will always be for the benefit of others and involves a much deeper significance to us than what is obvious to anyone else.