Several weeks ago I was convicted about the fact that my spiritual life had become stale and cold. I was reading my Bible, but I wasn’t getting anything out of it. God wasn’t answering my prayers. My interests were more on myself than anything else. It seemed that my desire for God had been stolen by other things.
So, being a planner, I immediately planned out what I could do to make things right. I’m going to write something down from my Bible reading every day. I’m going to pray over these certain things every day. I’m going to hand out this many tracts every week. I’m going to find someone to encourage every week. It all sounded good, until I realized my major mistake: I would be doing all of these things out of guilt. Guilt is the worst motivator of all. I realized that my Christian life should not be spurred on by guilt, but by a desire for God.
THE PROBLEM
Galatians 5:16-17, “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.”
Illustration: Man is interested in woman, he wants to spend time with her
If you want your desire for God to grow, you have to spend time with Him. Your Christian life will become cold quickly when you become too busy to spend time with the Savior. The problem is, you might not be aware of it because you’re so busy! You have to be willing to make time for the Lord.
Read Revelation 2:1-4.
WHAT TO DO
If your love for God is cold and your desire is almost non-existent, here’s what you need to do. Don’t miss this! Actively cultivate your desire for God, AND actively suppress your desire for the flesh.
Make time to spend with God in Bible reading. Choose to read your Bible more, not less. Spend more time in prayer. Meditate on God’s Word. Memorize the Bible. Ask God to grow your desire for Him.
But at the same time, cut out the things that steal your desire for God. Really look at the things you do, and ask yourself, “Is this taking away my desire for spiritual things?” Is there something that you are doing that is feeding some kind of sinful desire, whether it’s your pride, lust, or greed? Is there something that distracts your mind from thinking on God during the day? You need to actively suppress your fleshly desires, or cut them out completely, and that can be hard.
How much do you desire God?
Psalm 1:1-2, “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.”
Delight means desire! He desires the Word of God, and he cultivates that desire through meditation every day. Do you desire God’s Word?
Psalm 40:8, “I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.”
Do you desire God’s will?
Psalm 37:23-24, “The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand.”
Do you desire the path that God has for you?
Psalm 37:4-5, “Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.”
Personal illustration: my desire to preach
We should desire three major categories:
1. DESIRE TO LOVE GOD
Matt. 22:37-38, “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment.”
This should be your greatest desire. Love is the strongest motivator of all, and your love for God will grow as you spend time with Him. The most important person in your life should be your heavenly Father.
2. DESIRE TO WORSHIP GOD
Read Luke 10:38-42.
Loving God will lead to a desire to worship Him. Mary had this desire. Worship is simply giving to God, whether that is your time, your attention, your praise, your finances, or something else. Martha had a desire to serve Christ, but not to worship Him. Her desires were out of order. A desire to worship God will lead to the desire to serve Him.
3. DESIRE TO SERVE GOD
Philippians 1:23-26, “For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you. And having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your furtherance and joy of faith; That your rejoicing may be more abundant in Jesus Christ for me by my coming to you again.”
This is the ultimate goal, to cultivate your desire for God to the point where you are serving Him out of love, not guilt or duty. You want to serve in a ministry! You want to encourage that person! You want to witness to others! It’s all coming out of a heart of great love for God.
CONCLUSION
That brings us back to the two men on the road to Emmaus. They were privileged to spend time with the risen Savior, and after He was gone, they said, “Did not our heart burn within us?” Their hearts had been set ablaze because they had spent time with the Savior. Their desire for God, which was cold and lifeless before, had now been rekindled.
Acts 4:13 says, “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.”
When your heart is on fire for God with a burning desire, others will see it. They will see your passion for God. Do you desire God’s Word, God’s will, and God’s way? Or has your desire for God disappeared? Is Bible reading and prayer a chore instead of a delight? Then it’s time to cultivate your desire for God. It will take time, but be patient. Don’t do anything out of guilt. Spend more time with God, and ask God to grow your desire, and He will! Then you will find that you will want to worship and serve God. We need Christians who are on fire for God, who desire Him more than anything. We need Christians with hearts on fire for God.
