Called to a New NormalIhe Atụ

The Desires of the Heart 

We live in a time in which nearly everyone in our culture is obsessed with being different, finding their niche, and figuring out what will make them stand out. It doesn’t matter if you’re in middle school or middle management, on social media or socializing at a party—everybody wants to find what sets them apart. Whether it’s a haircut, a quirky car, a foreign film collection, a college football team, or a genre of music, there are countless things we can find to define us as different. Of course there is nothing inherently wrong with self-expression, but the relentless pursuit of it as a tool to define us can be nothing less than exhausting. The pursuit of self-expression becomes relentless precisely because we look to external things to tell us (and others) who we are. Not so with God! As Scripture tells us, “Man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart” (1 Sam. 16:7). 

God isn’t interested in hairstyles or hobbies; God is interested in your heart. God doesn’t need more stuff; God needs more you. God wants more of what is inside. It is your heart that fascinates Him. He longs for what’s inside you. So many people in your life make you feel as if you need to be smarter, savvier, more beautiful, more this, or more that. God doesn’t want anything in this world—except more of you. 

God longs to “give you the desires of your heart” (Ps. 37:4). But for our desires to be trusted, we have to commit our hearts to God first. Doing this creates boundaries for our desires, causing us to desire what is best for us and what God desires for us. When we commit ourselves fully to God, we will want what God wants for us because we trust that what God wants is always good.

Everywhere we go, everywhere our feet touch, we bring the grace of God with us. The rule and reign of heaven come to earth until the prayer that followers of Jesus have been praying for two thousand years is finally fulfilled: “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:10). 

The heart of a conqueror is simply a heart handed over to the God who formed it. And when we allow the Lord to have His way in our hearts, we can be sure that a new normal is right around the corner. 

“Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart,” (Ps. 37:4, NIV).