Hearing His Voice #177

Those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit.

Romans 8:5

God is working within you. He is shaping your character, your desires, your feelings, your sense of direction, your vision of the future . . . everything. While you are listening for an external voice to guide you, God is renovating your heart and mind internally. He may speak through an external voice, but not independent of His Spirit’s internal work. According to Romans 8:5 and Philippians 2:13, God is busy shaping your thoughts, your will, and your works for His good pleasure.

Most Christians are deeply suspicious of their own desires, and we have some basis for that. Our desires can be selfish and misdirected. But our tendency to crucify all of them isn’t the answer. If God is working within us to shape our will, and we try to crucify everything that qualifies as “our will,” aren’t we then at odds with the Holy Spirit’s work? If God has planted many of our desires within us, it will do no good to try to crucify those desires. Though many people assume that if they want something it must not be God’s will, we can assume that if we want something it very well might be God’s will. He is cultivating us to want what He wants for us.

Don’t be afraid of the work God is doing within you. Don’t assume that your pleasures and His are at odds with each other. He is working His pleasure into you, helping you desire what He desires and pursue His purposes. When your will and His will align, it may feel like you are simply seeking your own interests. But you are seeking His interests too. And both you and He will be satisfied with the results.

Holy Spirit, are my desires really okay? Have You put Your desires within me? Help me discern which ones are Yours and which have flowed out of my own selfishness. Satisfy me with the fulfillment of every desire that fits Your purposes.