“Desire can be painful, even dangerous. To open yourself to desire means becoming vulnerable to loss and regret. No wonder you try to distance your desire and settle for envy. But desire can drive you to build an abundant life. . . . If you want to be whole, open your heart to your desire and lead it gently before God.”- Alison Cook and Kimberly Miller
As Alison Cook and Kimberly Miller conclude Chapter 12 of Boundaries for Your Soul, they talk about what happens when you face your envy. When you face your envy, you connect with the deepest desires hiding beneath it. As a double-edged sword, these desires:
- can remind you of missed opportunities; this, in turn, lead you down a path of regret
- drive you to pursue meaningful passions or to connect with others and greater fulfillment in your life
Yet, the authors caution, God doesn’t promise to give you everything you want. However, the Lord wants you to experience satisfaction. In fact, Alison and Kim stress, God gives you longings so He can ultimately fulfill them. Furthermore, as you surrender your dreams to Him, the sting of unfulfilled desires subsides. Thus, you journey “from the angst of isolation to purposeful connection.”
Finally, the authors cite one of C. S. Lewis’ most famous sermons, The Weight of Glory. In this sermon, Lewis suggests that God wants to fulfill our desire, not give us a grim life that lacks fulfillment. Lewis taught:
“We are told to deny ourselves and to take up crosses in order that we may follow Christ; and nearly every description of what we shall ultimately find if we do so contains an appeal to desire. . . . It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, . . far too easily pleased.”
Today’s question: What godly desire leads you to abundant life? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Reconnect with orphaned parts of ourselves”
