Desires of the heart

I read today in Luke 6:45

“Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks”

Meaning, whatever is in your heart, will usually come out of your mouth. Which leads me to another verse in Proverbs 4:23

“Guard your heart, for it affects EVERTHING you do”

Sometimes when we fight or don’t get along with people, we think it is something they have done, for us to respond to them in that way. It must be what THEY did, to make ME feel that way. We always try to blame an outside source. If we look inside our own hearts, and see what the problem really is, the relationship with that person that usually grates on your nerves, may change.

Not everybody has the same heart in a certain situation. We all feel differently in each of the circumstances that happen in our lives. What makes ME flip out and get aggravated at a driver that cuts me off? and YOU couldn’t care less, what makes ME get mad at the person that says that they don’t want to do something the way I want to do it? and YOU couldn’t care less how they do it! It’s all in the desires of our “OWN” heart.

We all desire for something, whether it be Jesus, money, food, sex, relationship, acceptance, fame, love or contentment. There will always be a driving desire in our heart. It’s when that desire is a selfish desire and not one that reflects Jesus, that it becomes an evil desire, which is what causes the quarrels described in James 4:1

“What causes the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you?”

Next time you start to feel frustrated at somebody, check your heart and figure out what desire is resting there. Try to change YOUR desire to something that is not self centered, make it Christ centered and bring a new perspective to the situation. See what happens!

For example, when a driver cuts me off in traffic, and out comes “bleep, bleep, bleeping, bleep!!!” check your desire. What is in your heart at that precise moment that makes that come out of your mouth?

For me, it’s the fact that I’m in a rush and that person got in my way and slowed me down, or made me almost run into the back of them and cause an accident. I want to get revenge and pull in front of them and slam my breaks on, just because, my desire is for them to feel how frustrating it is…but what if I did, and that person has a different desire in their heart? They couldn’t care less, and there I am having my blood pressure rise and on the borderline of a heart attack, because someone didn’t do what my heart desired, and that was to stay out of my way, so I can get to work on time. I guarantee that when I am not in a rush, my heart would desire nothing more than to have a chill drive to work, and if someone cuts me off, oh well, I’m too busy desiring something other than them to get out of my way!!!

That wasn’t a great analogy, how about this one…

When you are trying to persuade someone of something, your heart desires for them to understand whatever it is you are trying to convey…their heart, doesn’t desire the same…you get frustrated and mad and that then causes tension between the two of you, because that person didn’t see things the way YOU do and didn’t fulfill that desire in YOUR heart. It’s nothing that THEY really did to MAKE YOU mad… you just had certain “desires” or “expectations” that someone else didn’t meet. If you went into that situation, with a desire to just speak Gods word, no matter what the outcome. Then I’m sure either way the other person sees it, you are going to feel fulfilled. When you have a “Christ centered desire” and not a “selfish desire” your feelings aren’t angered because it’s not about you and what you want, it’s about Jesus, and what He wants. YOUR feelings of anger, hurt or discontentment, root from that selfish desire, when it’s what YOU want.

In James 4:1-10 it talks about how we always want our way, and how we don’t always get what we want, because we don’t ask God. Even if we do ask, we don’t get it, because our motives are wrong. We want, “what only will give us pleasure” (James 4:3)

Change your motives (desires) in your heart, and God will start to bless you in unimaginable ways! He will give you all the desires of your heart, when your desires line up with His!!

How comforting to know that when He sees a Godly desire in your heart, He will fulfill it!

James 4:8 “Come close to God, and God will come close to you”

Whenever you are finding ungodly desires in your heart that cause you to lash out, seek Him & He will show us His ways. He who gives the desire, also has the power to replace a desire! When you get close to God, your desire will change to what He desires instead.

James 4:10 “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up in honor.”

When we finally align ourselves with the Lord, and put Him before ourselves, to want what HE wants, rather than what WE want, He will honor us!!

My prayer for you today is that through HIS desires, your hearts will change and your relationships will flourish because of it!!!