Your Own Desire
One of the worst things God can do is give you your own desire, when it’s your desire but not his. Israel wanted flesh to eat when they were in the wilderness and God brought them quail, Num 11. He gave them their own desire, Ps 78:29, and many died, as a result. Furthermore, they received, in the future, far less than he originally intended to give them, Ps 81:10-16.
Your own desire will lead you:
Astray from God. People want something so badly they will pray intently and hear God say “Yes”, when in fact they are simply hearing their own voice. If they give you a verse of scripture to prove what they desire is of the Lord, they will misapply the verse, misquote it, or lift it completely out of its context.
Away from God. Once you are astray, you will soon be away. I’ve watched and personally experienced that slow drift that eventually leads you to be out altogether. You get comfortable with being astray and it’s like the frog in boiling water. You’re not even aware of your own spiritual bankruptcy and eventual death, Rom 8:6.
It is certainly better to want what you don’t have than to have what you don’t want.
How to avoid following your own desire.
- Be circumspect. Discern your own lust. Discern the Lord’s will. And recognize the difference.
- Be patient. See how and in what way God is leading you. Give him time to show himself. He led Israel in the wilderness and let them thirst before giving them water out of the rock. He let them hunger before giving them manna from heaven. He wanted them to know that he was taking care of them. And he promised to give them far better provisions in the Promised Land. They couldn’t wait.
- Be content. Be content with such things as ye have. All we really need is found in 1 Tim 6:6-8. I believe this is what the Lord was trying to teach Israel in the wilderness, but they couldn’t get past their own lust. You need not get past your own desire before you can find contentment in God’s desire.