THE POWER OF DESIRE

What do you want your life to look like a year from now?

Sometimes when I ask someone what they want in life, they instead tell me what they don’t want.
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               “I don’t want to be depressed.”
               “I don’t want to be fearful.”
               “I don’t want to be alone.”
               “I don’t want to be addicted.”
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It’s often easier to identify what we don’t want than what we do want. Why is this? 
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THE PROBLEM WITH CHANGE

“It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak.
We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition
when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on
making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant
​by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”
 – CS Lewis
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What a shocking truth to discover.
 
How do we end up alone?
How do we end up addicted?
How do we end up unstable?
How do we end up in misery?
How do we end up in bondage?

Our desires are too weak.
 
We want to be healthy, but aren’t willing to change our diet and exercise.
We want a godly marriage, but aren’t willing to put in the effort.
We want to be at peace, but aren’t willing to take our thoughts captive.
We want to have good relationships, but aren’t willing to invest the time necessary.
We want to be respected, but aren’t willing to do the hard things.
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We want to be free, but aren’t willing to do what it takes to experience freedom. 
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OUR FEAR OF CHANGE

It’s easy to assume that our desires are too strong – and to a certain extent, that can be true. Our desires for pleasure, for instant gratification, can be the hardest to overcome. However, I believe that the biggest problem we face is not that we want the wrong thing too much, but that we don’t want the right thing enough.

And why is that? All of us can identify some area of our lives we need to and want to change for the better. But day after day, week after week, month after month, things remain unchanged. Why?

Because, if we’re honest, the struggle we all face is that we find it easier to manage what is known over what is unknown.

​As CS Lewis so eloquently stated, we cling to what we know, even though it only makes us filthy and discontent, simply because we cannot imagine the “holiday at the sea” that is offered us – the abundant life Jesus has for us. Our biggest obstacle to change is that we fear surrender. We are afraid of God, so instead of freedom, we live in bondage. 

THE TRUTH ABOUT CHANGE

 Let’s be honest. Change is hard. It’s different. It’s scary. It requires a lot of work. So it’s easy for us, with our sin nature, to give up and give in before the victory.

When we try to change on our own, we rarely succeed because our effort and discipline are tied in to our motivation. When we reach our goal, we revert back to the starting line. This type of change is called reformation, and there are three key identifiers of this type of change:

First, reformation is based on what I do, in my own self-discipline. This change is based entirely on my own ability to tell myself “no.” And if we’re honest, none of us are very good at telling ourselves no. We can do it in the short-term, but rarely do we go the distance. Our ability to tell ourselves no tends to fail when we’ve had a frustrating day (“I deserve relief”) or when we’ve had a great day (“I deserve to celebrate”). It fails when we don’t get immediate results (“What’s the point?”) and it fails when we get what we want (“Now I don’t have to do this anymore”). It soon becomes clear that we’ll take any excuse to tell ourselves “yes” instead of “no.”

Second, reformation is change that’s affected from the outside in and is circumstantial. The idea is that if I change the people, places, or things in my life that are sources of temptation, I’ll be able to do the right thing. This can often become a way around our inability to tell ourselves no – when we aren’t able to follow through, we begin to blame other things outside of ourselves. The problem with this mindset is that our circumstances do not make us who we are; they merely reveal who we are.  

Third and finally, the result of our change being based on circumstances and on our own self-discipline is that the change is temporary. It is simply a matter of time before we revert back to our sinful patterns, because our problem is within us, not outside of us, and none of us has the ability to truly tell ourselves “no” when it’s hard. We might try to convince ourselves we do, but very rarely do we have the ability to do the right thing at the right time regardless of how we feel. 
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the beauty of transformation

So what now? If my problem is within me, if I don’t have the power to tell myself “no,” if all my efforts are bound to fail, how am I supposed to change?

You can’t.

But God can change you.

So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. ​
​JOHN 8:36

This change that Jesus offers us is called transformation.
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In contrast to being about my own ability to effect change, transformation is what God does, not what I do. It is not based on my ability, but His. When we surrender our lives to Christ, He gives us a new heart, a new will, and ultimately, the grace (power) to do what He calls us to do. 

​I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you;
I will remove from you your heart of stone
and give you a heart of flesh.
And I will put my Spirit in you and move you
to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.
Ezekiel 36:26-27  

​For it is God who works in you
to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.
Philippians 2:13

 And God is able to bless you abundantly,
so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, 
you will abound in every good work. 
2 corinthians 9:8
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​And in contrast to being circumstantial and working from the outside in, the change God brings about is from the inside out, as we read a moment ago in Ezekiel 36. When we receive a new heart, it comes with new desires, new hopes, new dreams. And along with those new desires, we begin to not only want differently, but also to think differently and feel differently. 

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters,
in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies
as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God--
this is your true and proper worship.
Do not conform to the pattern of this world,
but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is--
his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Romans 12:1-2
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And finally, because this change is based on God’s ability, and because it is change that is from the inside out, it is a permanent change.  

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ,
the new creation has come:
The old has gone, the new is here!
2 corinthians 5:17
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​Does this mean that we won’t stumble? Of course not. But it does mean that when we stumble, Jesus will lift us back up to our feet and work with us until we are victorious. He loves us too much to let us miss out on the “holiday by the sea.” 

No temptation has overtaken you except what is
common to mankind. And God is faithful;
he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.
But when you are tempted, he will also provide
a way out so that you can endure it.
1 Corinthians 10:13
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Isn’t that amazing news? What a relief to know that my freedom doesn’t depend on me. It depends on Christ. My success or failure is entirely dependent upon my relationship with God. He promises to do it; my part is to simply surrender to what He wants to do in my heart and my life. 
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LIVING SURRENDERED

When we recognize that our freedom is only found in Christ, it should change our perspective and our priorities. Rather than focusing on what’s wrong, it moves us to focus on our relationship with Him so that we can receive His grace, truth, and power for our daily and momentary needs – even if those needs are related to things such as choosing a healthy lifestyle, dealing with a work-related conflict, or learning how to handle stress.

While we don’t initially tend to think of needing God’s intervention in those things, those are the very areas where we most need Christ. Without knowing the truth that relates to those areas of our lives, we will find ourselves continuing to live according to the world’s philosophies of stress, conflict, and health – and ultimately, find ourselves in danger of becoming enslaved to sinful patterns of behavior as a result.  
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tools for success

So what are some practical things you can do to find success in refocusing your perspective and strengthening your desires for the good things Christ offers?
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As we go through these tools for success, I hope you notice a pattern: they’re centered on and dependent upon God’s power. God is the only one who can and will set us free; we simply need to learn to submit to Him so that we can experience that freedom. In utilizing these tools, we place ourselves in the perfect position to receive God’s grace (the power God gives to do what God says) and begin to break free of the lies that have kept us in bondage for so long. 
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1. Commit to God’s word.
   Knowing God’s truth is vital. If we don’t know the promises of God, we won’t claim the promises of God. If we don’t know the truth, we won’t recognize the lies. We need to know who God is, how He works, how He wants us to live, and the promises He makes us to help us to live that way.
   
   
2. Commit to prayer.
   Make a habit of talking to God. Pray continually. You’ll be shocked by the closeness you can experience with God if you make a commitment to communicate with Him regularly. Ask Him for what you need. Praise Him for who He is. Thank Him for what He does.
   
   
3. Commit to scripture memory.
   It’s not enough to read it; we need to know it. And the best way to know it is to dwell on it. Scripture memory shouldn’t just be for children. When God speaks to you through His word, make a priority to memorize the passage so that you can continually be encouraged, challenged, and equipped by it.
   
   
4. Commit to accountability.
   Our desires are too weak. That’s why we need accountability. Find someone (or more than one someone) whom you can invite to encourage you, challenge you, and at times, rebuke you in your walk with Christ. When we invite others into our relationship with Christ, it gives us the support we need for those times when our desires are too weak by having others whose desires are strong enough to carry us.
   
   
5. Commit to godly inputs.
   Check your sources and make a priority of getting godly input into your life. Godly music. Godly books. Godly people. Seek out good influences and let them encourage you and spur you on to godliness. It may take a sacrifice to have this priority in your life, but I guarantee you, it’s worth it.
   
   
6. Make a plan.
   When we are in the process of overcoming sin, temptation is a strong and regular struggle. Therefore, we must be prepared by having a plan. What will we do when temptation hits? Where will we go? What will we think about? What will we talk about? Who will we talk to? When we don’t have a plan, we are far more likely to fall into sin in the heat of the moment.  
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so what do you want?

It’s time to decide what we want and how badly we want it.

Do we really want to be free?

If so, it’s time to act like it.

It’s time to make a commitment.

It’s time to make effort.

It’s time to work hard.

​It’s time to surrender.