Month: March 2017

Whose favor do you crave? Who do you wish you could “wow”? Whose opinion of you matters desperately to you?

Do you wish your boss would take notice?

Do you wish other entrepreneurs would acknowledge your unparalleled hustle?

Would it rock your world if only (insert name here)                            would personally comment on one of your FB/Instagram posts?

Do you wish other moms would aspire to your level of mommy mojo?

Do you wish your husbanding skills would make you the envy of all of your wife’s girlfriends?

Do you wish your neighbors viewed you as the Joneses they yearn to keep up with?

Now stop for a moment. Pick any one of those mentioned above, or one that better suits you personally, and imagine that it isn’t just your wish or desire, but is in fact reality. You actually DO have the admiration of that person or group you so desperately desire. Now what?

Are you content? Are you satisfied? Has that admiration brought you all the happiness and joy and peace of mind you thought it would? Probably not, huh? Or at least, not for long.

My guess is that one of two things will happen right quickly: 1) you’ll immediately start to be concerned about losing that admiration or being one-upped by someone else, or 2) once the satisfaction subsides, you’ll soon look to some other area of your life for praise or affirmation from others. Sound about right?

What if the problem is that you’re looking to all the wrong things for your sense of worth? What if you realized there is already someone quite fond of you, someone who is thrilled with you, someone who feels so strongly about you that he would… give up his only Son for you? What if HE was your source of honor and the place you ran to for security and peace of mind? Might that bring into your heart and your life what you haven’t been able to find anywhere else?

My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge” (Psalm 62:7 NIV).

 

It’s a fair question.

Some may be more concerned about finding the right answer than others. Some may be searching for the answer without really knowing it, because their internal need to search for the answer is obfuscated by what they feel is merely an outward need to scratch an itch or satisfy a desire or longing. Some may not care at all.

Regardless of where you fall on the spectrum, most responses to the question “What does God Want?” probably fall somewhere under two relatively common answers.

“Hard work.”

You may call it the Golden Rule. You may not have a name for it all. But it is the most common standard by which people live, and an assumption by which people figure God will be pleased – even those who don’t openly profess to believe in God. “If there’s some higher being,” the thought goes, “surely he will be satisfied with those trying their hardest to do the right thing and treat others the right way.” Since no one is perfect, God will certainly settle for those who at least make a concerted effort in that direction. That’s one line of thinking.

What does God want?

“Holy work.”

This is the response that typically comes from religious folks, those “in the know.” While the non-believing world doesn’t know any better than to serve self and look out for number one, believers “know” better. They “know” God is looking for obedience, service, loving others, faith in action, etc. They’re right… kind of. But they’re potentially worse off than the non-believer if they are content to put the cart before the proverbial horse, the way the Pharisees in Jesus’ day did. Let me explain. See there IS something that God wants.

It isn’t your hard work.

It isn’t your holy work.

It IS your heart.

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13).

Sounds simple enough, right? Until we take a real, honest look at what our heart truly reveals.

“This is the evil in everything that happens under the sun: The same destiny overtakes all. The hearts of people, moreover, are full of evil and there is madness in their hearts while they live, and afterward they join the dead” (Ecclesiastes 9:3).

Not a pretty picture.

“Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds” (Revelation 2:23).

Tell me, when you consider what you can keep hidden from others – but not from Jesus – deep down inside your heart, do Jesus’ words fill you with peace, or… something else?

But here is the good news:

“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 36:26).

All God wants is your heart. And, since yours is no good on its own, he offers you his as the perfect replacement through Jesus. Now then, will you, through faith in Jesus, give it back to him? That’s all he wants. Everything else will follow.