Desires of the Heart
So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. Gal 5:16-17
Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word;but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. Mark 4:18-19
Trust in the LORD and do good;dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Take delight in the LORD,and he will give you the desires of your heart.. Psalms 37:3-4
Our desires are indeed a mixed bags. Desires need a focus, a source, and this determines what it is you love. God’s love remains unchanged in the midst of my changing desires. The above verses reflect some of the origins of our desires be it from the “flesh”, the Spirit, the draws of the world, and how, in our human nature, we can get side tracked.
As I was reflecting upon the comments from my last post, three things came across my mind. I will mention all three and then expound a bit on each in the subsequent paragraphs.
1) The first is the poem by Francis Thompson, “The Hound of Heaven” which you can find online with different versions. Some are on YouTube.
2) The second is a short book published in 1971 by Earl Lee and updated in 2012 by Scott Daniels. The title is “The Cycle of Victorious Living” and is available online through Amazon or in printed copy through The Foundry Publishing.
3) The third is a song in French. It is entitled simply, “Le Cantique des cantiques” (Song of Songs) and is a love song sung by Natasha St Pier with the group Glorious accompanying.
1) By nature, we want to be in control of our lives and so our desires reflect this. As Paul says in Galatians 5, “the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit”. If our focus is on ourselves, they are contrary to God and our following His Spirit. The Hound of Heaven is a poem written in old English that portrays this quite well. It shows us that in spite our desires, the expression of God’s love is not changed. God is the Hound of Heaven who in His great love pursues us even if our desires are turned away from Him. Francis Thompson shares his life journey in this poem and starts it
I fled Him down the nights and down the days
I fled Him down the arches of the years
I fled Him down the labyrinthine ways
Of my own mind, and in the midst of tears
I hid from him,
But in spite of my desires to “do it my way”, God..
with unhurrying chase and unperturbe d pace,
Deliberate speed, majestic instancy,
They beat, and a Voice beat,
More instant than the feet:
All things betray thee who betrayest me.
And after some years of following his personal desires, Francis found that his desires betrayed him because he had betrayed the Creator who knows him better than himself. But the love of God prevailed and the author’s desires were completed in God and in God’s desires when he says..
But just that thou might’st seek it in my arms.
All which thy childs mistake fancies as lost,
I have stored for thee at Home.
Rise, clasp my hand, and come.
Halts by me that Footfall.
Is my gloom, after all,
Shade of His hand, outstretched caressingly?
Ah, Fondest, Blindest, Weakest,
I am He whom thou seekest.
Thou dravest Love from thee who dravest Me.
You see, what our heart truly finds fulfillment in, is finding that my desires can find completion and wholeness in the desires of God which He “[has] stored for you at Home”.
The following link will take you to the full poem..
https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-hound-of-heaven/
Bottom line – God loves us and gently pursues us in spite of our desire to be in control of our lives.
2) But sometimes, our desires come from a place of uncertainty and anxiety as opposed to rebelliously wanting to do it our own way. In our human weakness, uncertainty and worry start to control us even if we desire to love and follow God. This is where “The Cycle of Victorious Living” comes in.
Psalms 37:4 says “if” we delight in the Lord, he will give us the desires of our heart. When we truly delight in someone or something, our desires become as one. The process of fully delighting is where we can get “messed” up hence our desires become “messy” or “mixed”. I have found ‘The Cycle of Victorious Living’ helpful in keeping one’s desires focused on delighting in the Lord. I have used it a number of times in my personal life and in my medical practice where someone comes in anxious. Anxiety has a tendency to become all consuming as we focus on ourselves and our desires… we cannot see another perspective or solution. It is different than fear in that fear deals with the present, real situation whereas anxiety focuses on the future “what if”. These futures situations are beyond our control so we need to commit them to the Lord, hands down, trust that He will deal with them, while delighting in Him and resting in Him. It is in the living out of this cycle that the view of God’s constant, unchanging love becomes clearer.
Sample of prescription with the Cycle
I cannot remember how many times my prescription bearing this cycle has been returned to me years later crumped and worn. The bearer says something like this, “ I have kept this paper on my mirror to see each morning and now I return it to you as I no longer need it. It has become my life’s habit.”
3) Finally, we have desires that come from a heart that loves God, that seeks His desires because of this love. The French song “Le cantique des cantiques” expresses this so well. It can be found with this YouTube link.
https://youtu.be/mzvJVoHEDH4
The song is based on the book of the Bible called “Song of Songs” which is a collection of love poems. Unfortunately the English translations I have seen on the internet do not do justice to the nuances of the French. They do not convey the depth of meaning the French conveys.
It is an invitation to and from God to “come, yes, come, I invite you into my garden. Winter has passed, and I will love you.” When we return the love of God with our love, we follow all God’s commandments according to Jesus…. and our desires are fulfilled in Him. And He makes my desires full and complete. He is the source of our desires. And because I love Him, my desire is to please Him. And because He loves me, His desire is to give me all the desires of my heart.