Our Father desires to deepen your relationship with Him. He came to seek and save what was lost. That’s us! He desires you. I believe this email will help. Today, He is beginning a new work in you, moving you from desire to require.
If you’re anything like me, when caring for others your want’s will often take a backseat to other peoples needs. This is a beautiful posture of servitude. However, there is an area of relationship with God where this posture could really be holding you back from knowing Him more. And I know you want to know Him more! We’ll get to that in a moment. First, a quick story…
This Christmas was really funny when it came to handling the desires of my 6 year old and 8 year old. We couldn’t help but laugh when Isaac and Israel submitted their Christmas list to us via’ kids messenger on facebook(private to just family).
The letter went something like this…
“Dad, I neeeeed a new bike, and I really really need that toy I saw on Ryan’s toys review. You know, the fake safe where I can hide my stuff from everyone” Ha! They needed it right? No, they wanted it. Later that day I asked Israel if he wanted a new pair of jammies for Christmas. To which he replied, “No dad, I’d rather have the new jumanji board game.” Wow.
I was secretly a little frustrated because I knew he needed the jammies, and only wanted the game instead. I was hoping to kill two birds with one stones. At 8 years old, he cannot always accurately judge what is a need vs. want and that’s okay because he’s growing. However, if we don’t help them grow in distinguishing between the two points of desire(wants vs need), then they might miss what they need, searching for what they want. This could be a big issue later in life.
I started to think about this. I started to self evaluate. Do I know the difference between wants and needs in my own life? Is there areas of my life where I have wants in the need category, and needs in the wants category? And how does that affect my life? Well, the answer is that it affects it BIG TIME.
You see, with a family that has a large number of needs, sometimes at the end of fulfilling all the needs, my wants get put on the back burner. And that’s okay as it is my honor and responsibility to serve my family. But truly, sometimes there’s just nothing left of me at the end of the energy spent to handle the needs and I’d rather be sleeping than watching that movie I WANT to see, or browsing that website I wanted to take a look at.
Real talk…
If God is in my “wants” category, then I’ll always make it second to needs. Be it my own, or others. Let me put it this way…
Eating is not optional. Drinking water is not optional. These are needs and certainly not wants. Why? Because my life requires them. I couldn’t live without these things. I really don’t have to think about it, eating and drinking is going to happen whether or not I am tired, lonely, sick, sad, or happy and healthy. It’s unconditional because it is a need.
If I have to choose between my greatest want and my smallest need, well… the need wins every-time.
Do you want more of God in your life? Do you want a deeper relationship with Him? Do you want to know Him? Do you want to surrender all? It might not happen.
As long as the desire for God is a want and not understood as a need, you will always have the liberty to conditionally pursue more of Him. I know this email is different but hang with me.
Today, I wanted to go grocery shopping with my wife but the pain from the neuropathy in my feet was so bad, my need for relief beat my want to help and be with her. Needs alway win over wants. So my fellowship with her today was conditional because I knew it wasn’t a need.
Sometimes God gets the least from us, not because we don’t want Him, but because we don’t have a reality of our need for Him. Did you know Jesus was needy? Okay, don’t scoff just yet. Jesus said that He did nothing except what He heard and saw from Our Father.
He NEEDED Our Father. He often left the crowds to be with Him because He did nothing aside from Him. That’s how, Jesus is created to need a Father. We are all likewise created in this manner. Also in that He wanted the cup of death to pass from Him, but He knew He needed to redeem a people because we were lost in sin. Need won over desire(want).
Jesus showed us that He needed daily bread from Our Father too. He didn’t just tell us to pray “give us this day our daily bread”, but rather He prayed it too! Remember, He said OUR FATHER. He was showing us how He prayed to His father. He knew reality of His need for Abba.
Do you know you NEED Abba? Is your relationship with God always suffering to the conditions of our life, your day, your workload, your preoccupation, your pain and sufferings? Do you eat from His table like you eat from your own? Knowing that if you don’t eat, you don’t live?
If this is you, it’s okay. There is no condemnation and He is not disappointed. Just like Isaac and Israel are growing in their ability to understand the difference between what is needed for living and what is wanted, so are you. A good father does not get upset with a child who is growing in understanding, He is only proud that the child is growing. So grow!
The Lord is shifting from your want’s, into your need as you understand how you are wired to need Him DAILY and spiritually cannot live without His daily bread no more than your body can live without daily bread.
I decree and declare growth spurt in Jesus name.
When it comes to your desire for more of Him, God is transforming your desire, to require.
I never understood what it meant to seek God with your whole heart until one day I was challenged by a friend to do something odd. He said, “the next time you are in the shower, hold your breath. Hold it until you cannot hold it anymore. Hold it until you must take a breath or pass out. Then Thomas, realize that as much as you required that next breath, this how much you need God EVERYDAY.”
There, in that understanding and level of pursuit, you will seek Him with your whole heart. You’ll seek God like a man that seeks water in a desert. Because you know He is the living water you need for life!
If you agree with this, I want to hear from you. Hit reply and type amen. However, it’s just a want, not a need, so it’s cool if not. HA! I have a unique sense of humor I think. 🙂
I love you. I pray for you.
I bless you in the name of Jesus – Thomas & Mandi + 7 Awesome
