Desiring God

Note to Reader:

“I’m Walking” is a category of my blog where I jot down personal lessons that I’ve learned as I walk with my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Life is never constant, but thankfully God is. Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” The more I get to know God’s character, through the Bible and prayer, the more my faith grows… all the while I’m taking notes along the way. I often jot down excerpts from other authors, notes from church services, and most importantly scripture from God’s word so that I can draft them into a concise format to refer to later. Originally, I compiled these notes for my own use, but it occurred to me that perhaps others may find my notes helpful as well. Thus, I humbly present my notes to you, hoping that they may offer even a little insight. With love, Ashley.

DESIRING GOD:

Have you ever wanted something so badly it became your primary desire? Its importance has grown to mean so much to you that it may have gradually, or not so gradually, moved from the “wants” category to the “needs” list.  Perhaps it is a specific career you greatly desire, or maybe it is the goal of purchasing a home. Maybe it is the desire to get married and start a family, but things don’t seem to be falling into place. Maybe it is the desire for financial success. Whatever “it” is, it dominates your thoughts, time, and energy above everything else because it is particularly important to you, and for whatever reasons, you have yet to obtain it. Even the joy of the blessings you do actually have now aren’t being fully enjoyed and experienced because you feel like you are missing this one particular thing.

“Once I get this one thing, then I will feel secure.”

“Once I get this one thing, then I will have hope.”

“Once I get this one thing, then I will be at peace.”

“Once I get this one thing, then I can enjoy everything else I already have.”

If any of these sound familiar, and we allowed ourselves to explore the silent recesses of our mind, the place where the utterances of those very thoughts have originated, then perhaps, if we were totally honest with ourselves, we may admit that we have desired this particular thing more than we have desired for God Himself. As a believer we would never intentionally want to put anything above God. We would never want to have any other idol besides God. His word even commands that “You shall have no other gods before Me.” [Exodus 20:3 and Deuteronomy 5:7]. However, when we find that we are putting our hope and joy in “that thing” we’ve been desiring for so long as opposed to putting our hope and security in God Himself, then we may want to step back and determine if that could indeed be the case.

Having desires is an important and necessary part of life, but we have to make sure our worldly desires don’t become more important to us then our desire for God. God will lovingly speak to our weary, restless, and fearful hearts, and perhaps, in regards to that very thing we desire so very much, He may softly say, “You are holding on too tightly.”

The story concerning Abraham and his son, Isaac, shares an important principle. In this case I am not referring to when God fulfilled His promise to Abraham and his wife, Sarah, by blessing them with a baby named Isaac (way after child bearing years, by the way. Yes, God is awesome.) [See Genesis 18:14/ Genesis 15-18 & 21 for the full story]

I am, however, referring to the part of the story that follows some time after, when Abraham is tested. God tells Abraham: “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about (Genesis 22 for full story).

God was asking Abraham to give up the one thing that mattered most to him. What was Abraham’s response? “Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey.” [Gen 22:3]  Wow, right? Abraham didn’t even hesitate. With his son, he set out the very next morning just after cutting enough wood for the burnt offering. His obedience was prompt and complete. It took three days of travel before he saw his destination in the distance. He traveled 50 miles to Mount Moriah near the site of Jerusalem, all the while knowing what was being asked of him. Why? Because Abraham desired God more than anything else — even the very gift God had given him in the first place. He demonstrates this and his love for God through his obedience.

John 14:21: Jesus said: “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.”

Abraham trusted God. He trusted God’s sovereign will, and he was willing to give up anything for God because God is everything.

I replay those gentle words in my mind again. “You are holding on too tightly.”

Abraham’s desire for God was so great he was willing to let go of what mattered most to him for God. He demonstrated pure obedience, reverence, trust, faith, and love for God. We, however, sometimes cling so tightly to “that thing” which has claimed our utmost desire—sometimes holding on with a suffocating grip of desperation—as if it were the answer, as is it were our hope and security. In actuality, it is then we have completely lost focus from our true need—our necessary desire for God Himself. The funny thing is that when we lose our focus from God, we lose perspective as to what is really important and what should ultimately come first. As a result, we don’t realize that God had given us those very blessings all along (and we still have more to look forward to as we walk this journey of life with Him).

When we focus on desiring God above all things, that is when we gain what we really sought in the first place. God is the joy, hope, security, peace, and love we seek and had hoped to find in “that thing” we searched for so anxiously. Let me be clear in saying that seeking God does not mean you may not very well obtain what you had hoped for. In fact, by seeking God, you will certainly gain much more. After all, God is also our Provider. Speaking of which, this leads me to the conclusion of the story of Abraham who was just about to sacrifice his son to God.

Before I continue I do want to address one question that may be lingering on the minds of readers.

You may be wondering why God would ask Abraham to perform a human sacrifice. Only pagan nations practiced such a thing, and God condemns this as a terrible sin, detestable, and strictly forbidden (see Leviticus 20:1-5).

Unlike pagan gods, He is a God of love, who does not need to be appeased (Exodus 34:6). He is a God of life, who prohibits murder and encourages practices that lead to health and happiness (Deuteronomy 30:15,16). He is the God of the helpless, who shows special concern for children (Psalm 72:4). He is the God of unselfishness who, instead of demanding human sacrifices, sacrificed Himself for us (Isaiah 53:4,5)

Thus, God did not want Isaac to die (as you will see at the conclusion of the story), but he wanted Abraham to sacrifice Isaac in his heart so it would be clear that Abraham loved God more than he loved his promised and long-awaited son, Isaac. (Please see the rest of Abraham’s story below) [Notes from the NIV Life Application Study Bible]

The point is that Abraham was willing. Abraham loved and desired God above all else. God was testing Abraham. The purpose of testing is to strengthen our character and deepen our commitment to God and His perfect timing. Through this difficult experience, Abraham strengthened his commitment to obey God. He also learned about God’s ability to provide.

Ah, yes! God, our Provider. The conclusion of this story goes like this:

Genesis 22:11-14

“But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, ‘Abraham! Abraham!’”

“Here I am,” he replied.

“Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”

Abraham looked up and there in the thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, ‘On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.’”

Sometimes God will ask us to release something in our lives, or He may not give us something until an appointed time because we are not supposed to desire what God can give us over God Himself.

I can only imagine how thankful and relieved Abraham must have been to see that ram in the thicket. He wouldn’t have to sacrifice his son, after all.

But what of the Heavenly Father who did indeed sacrifice His holy Son for those he loved? Oh yes, God Himself did that for us by sending His one and only Son, Jesus Christ to die, thus taking the penalty our sins deserved.

In God’s case, He did not provide Himself a ram caught in a thicket to take His divine Son’s place. God made a way for us to be saved—to spend eternity with God in Heaven, and to have a relationship with Him today.

John 3:16-17

“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.”

John 14:6

“I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

EXTRAS:

Song Recommendations:

–          “He Wants it All” by Forever Jones

–          “You are Faithful” by Jesus Culture (Consumed CD)

–          “Holding Nothing Back” by Jesus Culture (Consumed CD)

–          “Glorious” by Jesus Culture (Awakening- Live in Chicago CD)

–          “You are my Passion” by Jesus Culture (Come Away CD)

Desiring God- Ways to Build Our Relationship with God:

–          Read/ Study Our Bible! (It is our manual for life. When we have questions, God has answers. Let us immerse ourselves in His word regularly. God speaks to us and teaches us through His word. [I recommend the “Life Application Study Bible”].

–          Pray Daily (This just means talking to God and sharing our thoughts, concerns, feelings, and praises… whether on our knees or just throughout our day. He is always listening, desiring to be close to us.)

–          Commit to go to church (Take time to find the right church and then commit to going every week (even on mornings when our veteran coffee machine has made its last cup and has puttered to a stop, leaving us brewing instead.) 🙂 Also, one random church service a month isn’t enough. Let us make going to church a part of our lifestyle, our routine.)

–          Fellowship with other believers (Join a bible study, participate in a ministry in our church. Encourage each other as we walk with God.)

In other words, we make time and spend it with God. 🙂

Thank you for reading. With love, Ashley