DaySpring Daily Word of Inspiration: Psalm 73:25-26 – Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
As we begin today, I want you to think of the one thing you can’t live without. Take your time and come up with a real answer. (Jeopardy music ensues) Ok, times up! What did you come up with? Some may say a certain perfume, others might say a working car and still others may say good health. No matter what you came up with it will be something that will inevitably diminish, fade away or be destroyed. The major problem with the things we desire is that they never last. In the long run, they take more away from our lives (by striving to get them) than they add to our lives. We continually try to obtain these desires and forfeit our happiness. It sounds farfetched but look at it in these terms; we become desensitized to whatever happiness the item once provided. The desire becomes compromised due to our own disregard of its initial value. We think, “I’ll just get another one”, “I’ll start back up next week”, or “It’s not going to kill me”. In other words, we take the item for granted. That which we have at the top of our list as our “must have”, can now be as easily replaced by anything at any time.
Fortunately when we desire something more than what this life has to offer, we encounter Jesus. Our desire of heavenly treasures and a relationship with God himself produce great expectations. When we can’t live without Jesus being our focal point and pleasing him being our nature, we are introduced to more sustainable power than the world or anything in it would or could provide. That power is hope! Hope in Christ and the life to come over powers the humanistic nature to want things of this world. They have roots in heavenly places. They keep us ever filled up with excitement and expectance. With this desire, we never run out. We never get empty of wanting to get closer to God. We never have a lack of that hope. Our hope to be reunited with the Father never diminishes, fades away or is destroyed. We labor to reach our hope in Christ but the load is light. Even if our bodies reject ever human desired that is fulfilled on earth, our strength and hope are constantly reinvigorated by the desire to be with our Father again.
A desire for God and the things above will help us put our priorities in the right place and help to lessen the value we place on things in the earth. When we truly know the power of hope in Christ, we understand that nothing the earth has to offer matters and our wants and desires shift to that which only matters – living forever with God!
Today we pray that you have been opened to the fact that our desire, when earth bound are never going to be enough. However, when we really come to know Jesus, we have desires that replenish us forever. Don’t let the desires of this world suck the life out of you, rather desire those things that continue to add life to you. Be encouraged that as we want and desire God, our hope transforms and empowers us until the day we reunite with the Father again! In Jesus’ name, AMEN!