My heart's desires.

Is this what God wants?

I've been getting that question a lot lately. From everyone. Not literally everyone, but a lot of people, all in the span of a week. It's funny, even Joyce Meyers (on the radio) was talking about it as I drove in to Youth group on Wednesday night. 

It's a fair question to ask. Is this direction I'm deciding on what God wants or what I want? How do I know? 

I mulled this question over a lot.The thing is, I know how to live it. I've been in tough situations, I've had to make some personally big decisions, but I would have trouble describing it. I don't want to say it's a feeling, because we all know feelings are flippant and unstable. I would describe knowing "what to do", and following "God's desires" as a deep knowing, a familiarity. 

One of the girls in my small group pointed this out to me this Wednesday night: "You always say that. "You have to get to know God to understand such and such", every night." But it's true. I would say it out of habit, but this night it hit home that one truly has to know God and get to know Him personally in order to get anywhere in this life, in order to serve Him and to love Him. 

Knowing God helps us to know His will. The Spirit of God enables us to desire and know the Father. He shows us what the Father desires. The main point is this: When you know and love the Father and what He loves and desires, His desires become your desires. 

We get distracted by the situations in front of us. We get caught up in the choices we must make, we ask God what decision He wants us to make. I think the first thing we must remember is that we must know the heart of God. When we know His heart, the decisions become clear. It becomes clear what would please Him in any given matter. 

God doesn't baby us. He won't tell us each step to take. That's what makes this relationship with Him real and free. God doesn't tell us every little thing we should do in every single situation. As we know Him, we know what pleases Him, and what doesn't. There is great freedom in knowing what pleases God and makes His heart sing.  

"Delight yourself in the Lord,

    and he will give you the desires of your heart." (Psalm 37:4)

This verse is exactly what I'm talking about - know the Lord, and His desires become yours. If you truly desire God, the only one worth your life, He will give you the desires of your heart - Himself, and His desires. 

I mentioned this in my previous post, let the specifics of your problem fade and let Jesus take center focus. Don't let the situation at hand distract you from its purpose - to draw you ever closer to God, that you may know Him. 

Walk according to the Spirit of God; read your Bible and pray at every moment, so that you will have no doubt about who God is and what He desires.