We want what we want. And it’s disappointing whenever we’re denied the desires of our heart, especially when it seems they’re good and God-given. Sometimes our desires are thwarted for us to grow in holiness.
To be sure, desire makes us vulnerable as we’re opening our hearts to possibilities we cannot guarantee. And it does help to keep our desires aligned with God’s. But God is wild – unpredictable and outside of our control. And there’s no guarantee that even the good desires he gives us will come on our timeline or in the way we might imagine. And there are times in which he even seems to close a door of opportunity in our face.
For example, we’re denied an ideal job that would seem to provide all the needs we prayed for, a pregnancy test keeps coming back negative despite believing God has called us to expand our family, or the sale of the perfect house to serve our community falls through at the last minute. Whatever it looks like, we were fully trusting in God to fulfill the desires of our heart only to be disappointed.
It’s tempting in these moments to stop wanting. We can’t be hurt if we kill our desires. Or perhaps we try to control and arrange for the life we desire. But both of these options are faithless.
The better approach is to keep our desires open before God as he refines our faith. Sometimes he thwarts our desires so we can learn to keep our eyes fixed on him more than the object of our desires. Like kids at Christmas, we’re often more focused on the gift than the gift-giver. And God wants us to be in a profoundly intimate relationship with him. And this is the better gift.
In the end, continue to cry out to God in your grief and disappointment when the desires of your heart are thwarted. But learn to trust he has your good in mind even still.
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