Deepest Desires
“So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” Galatians 5:16
My deepest desires are to know God and to follow Him wholeheartedly; to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and to live a life of gratitude for His grace in saving me from the penalty of sin. But I must confess that my deepest desires are not always my strongest desires. Too often my strongest desires reflect fleshly urges and impulses that are in conflict with my deepest desires. Another way to say this is that what I want most is not always reflected in what I want now.
Sometimes it seems like a hopeless battle. As the Apostle Paul wrote, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do …For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.” (Romans 7:15,19). Paul understood the conflict between the Spirit and the flesh, which is why he wrote the verse above and the verse that follows it, which says, “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 what you want.” (Galatians 5:17)
The great news is that the battle has already been won for us by the Lord. “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” (Galatians 5:24) The one who saved us from the penalty of sin also wants to free us from the power of sin. That is God’s sanctifying work in us as we yield to Him and resist the desires of the flesh. As Paul writes: “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” (Galatians 5:25). As I do that, my deepest desires as a Christian also become my strongest desires in the daily walk of life.
What are your deepest desires? What are your strongest desires?
Having begun as a guest speaker in 2005, Dan was appointed Interim Pastor in 2008 and has been serving Maple Root Baptist ever since. As a small group leader and Chaplin for the Connecticut Tigers, Dan has a heart for the lost and the God that saves them.