Desire and Happiness

If you could do what you've always wanted to do, what would it be?  What do you desire?  What does your heart long for?  What makes you come alive? :)

I am reading John Eldridge's book Dare to Desire. 

It reminds me of another book I read about a year ago called Pure Pleasure by Gary Thomas. 

Both are VERY good books.  I highly recommend them both to you. :)

Both books talk about the fact that God WANTS us to be happy, contrary to what the Catholic monks believed and what most churches teach.

God DOES want us to have desire and passion, but in the right things. 

When we come to know Christ we are called to channel our desires and passions in the right direction, into good things. 

There is a great quote, "The most reprobate sinners can become the most devout saints."  Why?  Because they have strong desire. 

Before their desire was channeled toward the world, but when they come to know Christ they channel the same amount of energy they had toward sinning, toward doing good things for God's kingdom.  They have gone from cold to hot.  They are not lukewarm as most Christians tend to be.  They are on fire for Jesus! 

Wouldn't you rather be on fire for Jesus than lukewarm?  I know I would.  :)

God wants us to do what makes us come alive!  He wants us to be on fire! :)

Jesus said, "I came that they might have life and life abundantly." 

He did not come to take away our life.  That is Satan's lie to every person.  Satan says, "God is holding out on you.  He doesn't really want you to have fun."  But that is not the truth. 

God DOES want you to have fun, happiness, joy, fulfillment etc.  "The joy of the Lord is your strength."  "Rejoice in the Lord always.  I will say it again rejoice!"

Satan tries to sell the lie that sin is fun, but in the end we all know that sin leads to death.  Sin is slavery, not freedom, as Satan tries to tell us it is.

Sex before marriage is not freedom but becomes a bondage to lust.

Over-eating is not freedom but becomes a bondage to food. 

God's laws, rules, commandments are meant to set us free!  "He who the son sets free is free indeed." 

They may seem like a list of do's and don'ts to steal our joy, but that is a lie from Satan.

God created boundaries for us, parameters to live in, that will give us the MOST joy, not the least.  These are his commandments. 

Solomon concludes Ecclesiastes by saying, "Fear God and keep his commandments."  Jesus said, "If you love me you will keep my commandments."

The Sabbath for example is God's gift to us, giving us permission to rest for a day.  To stop being SO busy and to just RELAX.

"Honor your mother and father" because they know what is best for you and love you.  They have been on this earth longer than you so they have more wisdom than you. :)

Don't steal so you will not have to go to prison.  Etc.

These are all things that will increase our joy, not diminish it.

David says, "Oh how I love your law!"  This is why.  Because the law, God's commandments, bring life instead of death.  Sin leads to death.  God's law leads to life.  :)

So God wants us to have JOY, to be happy, to have a FULL life.

Dancing is OK.  Don't listen to churches who tell you it isn't.  David danced before the Lord a lot!  He wrote tons and tons of music and he was "the man after God's own heart."  So GOD LOVES MUSIC! :)

But the right kind of music.  Music makes me come alive.  There is music that brings life, like worship music, and music that brings death, like screamo music. :(  Choose life, not death. :)

God loves food and gave us food for our enjoyment, but we need to have and do everything in moderation.  We are not to let anything become an idol and replace God.  We are not to let anything master us. 

Desire of the world leads to addiction and being mastered by things of this world.  Churches and "religion" want to take away our desire completely.  But the mean, the middle ground, is best.  Have desire but don't let it rule you.  Stay in the center.  Have balance in everything.   

God knows that anything in the world is not what is best for us.  "Do not love the world or anything in the world."  Because God alone can completely fulfill us.  Nothing on this earth can. 

So BE HAPPY.  HAVE FUN.  But be happy and have fun in the Lord, not in this world. :)

Get in touch with your desires and what you want, because when you are truly alive, that is when you can best serve God.

The world tells us "do anything you want."  The church tells us "DON'T do anything you want at all, ever." 

God says, "Delight yourself in the Lord and I will give you the desires of your heart."

God says that we can do whatever we want within reason, if we are walking in His Spirit.

Many abandon their desires and wants for the religion of Christianity and then end up walking away from the church and God because they think they can never have fun with God.  They walk away to the world to have fun. 

BUT GOD DOES WANT YOU TO HAVE FUN. 

Don't walk away from God to have fun.  Have fun with God. :)

How do you have fun with God?  Well for me it's doing this, writing.  This is what most makes me come alive.  For you it might be painting, dancing, singing, etc.

There are good desires that we all have that God has placed inside of us.  Things that he has wired us for and created for us to do. 

What is a good thing that you desire?  What do you love most to do?  Then do that.  Don't let it become an idol, but do what God wired you to do.  For then you will have found your purpose in life.  You will have then found what God put you on this earth to do. :)

"Don't ask what the world needs.  Instead ask what makes you come alive and go and do that.  Because what the world needs is men and women who have truly come alive." 

Amen! 

So go find your desire, your passion, your calling.  Then you will be happy and have joy in the Lord, and you will no longer search for it in the world. :)

May God bless you! :)