Our Hearts Desire

Desires are a daily part of our human experience. As we journey through our daily lives, each new day brings with it a whole host of new desires that fill our hearts and minds. From our dream house, to that ideal job, from our hopes of marriage, to our longings for intimacy, although our desires are often good, what we do with our desires is another matter entirely. It is when these desires become so big in my life, that they begin to move into a place they were never intended to dwell, the recesses of my heart.

God made us for a world full of pleasure. In Genesis 2, we learn that the garden where God put the man he had formed, was filled with all kinds of trees which were - 'pleasing to the eye and good for food' (Gen 2:9). Our very bodies were designed to experience the pleasures of God's creation. Notice how the fruit God provides is first 'pleasing to the eye'. I've often wondered how amazing it is that I could quite happily stare at a beautiful scenary for hours on end without getting bored. It is true that there are many things in the world which have the ability to captivate our eyes. Things that bring us a great sense of pleasure and delight. Yet, not only do we receive pleasure from our eyes, our tongues provide us with a feast of delights when it comes to food. Have you ever wondered why a chocolate cake covered in chocolate and filled with chocolate tastes so good? Because chocolate is tasty! (Unless you don't like chocolate). Without our taste receptors, food would not only taste bland and uninteresting, but we would also be unable to detect toxins and identity certain foods which offer valuable nutrition. It seems therefore that the food in the garden was not only 'pleasing', but was also 'good'.

With then so many good things around us, how are we to live rightly in a world filled with pleasure? We need to ensure that the things we desire are in their rightful place. Our hearts were only ever meant to desire one thing - God. Whenever we seek to fill our hearts with things apart from God, we are always left wanting more. This is because the things of this world cannot fill a God-sized hole. Augustine of Hippo once said, “We were made for You, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you." In a similar train of thought, CS Lewis in his book 'Mere Christianity' wrote:


“If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.”

Turning then to the Bible, what does God have to say on this inner desire to be filled with good things. We must be clear that the Christian is never saying that things such as desiring a good job, nice house, loving marriage, or even enough money are bad desires. It is when these desires begin to take the place of God that our hearts are in danger of idolatry. What is idolatry? Simply, giving ourselves to something other than God. This is ultimately all to do with the word 'worship'. Paul Tripp, in his book 'Instruments in the Redeemer's Hand' comments that:


“Human beings by their very nature are worshipers. Worship is not something we do; it defines who we are. You cannot divide human beings into those who worship and those who don’t. Everybody worships; it’s just a matter of what, or whom, we serve.”

So the question is therefore: Has a good desire turned into a God-replacement? Has a desire become so big that it has become an object of our worship? Are we looking to something other than God for what only God can provide? The Bible offers us help to re-orient the compass of our hearts so that we are heading in the right direction. It first begins with the truth that we can be fully satisfied in God alone. It's hard to believe, but it's true! The Psalmist writes (emphasis added):

I say to the Lord, ‘You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing. (Psalm 6:2)


The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. 

(Psalm 34:10)


Blessed are those you choose and bring near to live in your courts! We are filled with the good things of your house, of your holy temple. 

(Psalm 65:4)


The Psalmist demonstrates an amazing confidence that in God he really does have everything he needs. This of course doesn't mean he stops desiring things outside of God. It does however mean that he is fully aware that only God can truly satisfy the deepest desire of his heart. With the hole of his heart filled with the pleasures of God, he is now freed up to enjoy the things of the world for what they are rather than demanding from them what they can never give. Money no longer is a 'must have' for happiness. If I have money, I'm thankful, if I hit hard times, I'm not shaken because my happiness is founded not on the sands of temporal pleasure but on the solid rock that is God. Money, sex, possessions are not the things that define my happiness - Jesus is. Whether I have a small house or a big house, married or single, my heart can be truly satisfied in the abundant treasure of knowing Jesus Christ.

Perhaps none of this makes sense and we are feeling confused as to why God seems to be withholding from us a good thing that in itself is a good desire. In our journey through life, we will desire many things, good and bad, there therefore must be an element of testing our heart to ensure that our desires are in their rightful place. If the tangible pleasures of this world seem to trump the hidden pleasures of God, keep in mind that God has promised to fill us with joy in his presence, with eternal pleasures at his right hand (Psalm 16:11; paraphrase). As we seek to grow a deeper desire for the pleasures of God, we will know a greater satisfaction beyond anything this world could offer. How then do we kindle such affections for God? Through reading his word, prayer and regular communion with his people. A new day has arrived, what is at the top of your list when it comes to your desires? My hope today is that God would satisfy our hearts with good things, things that are pleasing in his sight, that we may learn to enjoy the pleasures of his world in the way he has called us to do so.

For he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things. 

(Psalm 107:9)