Desires And Passions

“James 4:1,3 what causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?” “You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.”

Quarrels and fights are the results of unmet needs, insufficiencies, poor leadership, lack of order, and difference in opinions. Growing up, we fought over many little things, like who would do the dishes, who would have the last crusty slice of bread, or who would have control over the TV remote. I could go on and on but…. sina consent. All these, simply because there was a wish and a desire that one felt needed attention and priority.

When we allow our mortal beings to take authority over our desires. There is a war waged by those same passions and desires within us. This translates to a spirit, mind, and body conflict, and since we only give what we are full of, conflicts and fights become the ugly way of interacting with others.

“John 15:7 If you abide in me and my words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.”

Abiding in this context simply means: trusting in Jesus, remaining in fellowship with Jesus, connecting to Jesus. to dwell or reside in Jesus. You aren’t instructed to pray for things merely for the sake of asking—like an obligation. Instead, Jesus states you are to ask for whatever you want (desires). If you want something, then ask, and don’t stop asking until you get an answer. Whether that is yes or no, learn to trust that it is all for your good.

Jesus related abiding with Christ and obedience to His commands as the justification of asking for what you desire. When we deliberately choose to stay in love with Jesus and stick to His word in all circumstances, automatically His desires for our lives become our desires. Order is established. There is inner peace because every one of our desire becomes aligned to His will and timing. Only then can we wait quietly without grumbling. Our spirituality matures and we no longer crave temporal pleasures because we have tasted of the Lord and known that He is better than life.

And while we abide, we take delight in Him. “Psalm37:4 Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” 

The ‘receiving of your heart’s desires’ is dependent on your ‘taking delight in the Lord’. After you have asked and while you wait for your answer, choose to delight in Him, to wait right. In waiting delightfully, you serve Him, you abide in Him, you desperately read His word, you find joy in Him, you find pleasure in the things of God. Sure! there will be times when you will feel like you are forgotten, in such moments, remind yourself of that time He came through for you in a mighty way.

There are waiting rooms even in our spiritual walks. Never are they pleasant places we all can agree that. But take delight and make the waiting worthwhile. It is not about how long you have waited, It is about how you are waiting.

That’s the quality of your wait.