My Hearts Desire Part 3

Incline My Heart

What desires linger the most in your heart? What desires drive you or occupy your deepest and most passionate motivations? Are they desires for stuff, success, achievement, accolades, or a relationship? Are you the center of those desires or are they directed towards others?

We are all driven by desires in life. Desire to be loved, accepted, affirmed and celebrated just to name a few. But outside of the goodness of God, these desires do not produce good in us. Every desire must originate from and point back to Jesus. If He alone does not define our desires then our desires become dysfunctional in our souls. We see this in the Garden of Eden when Satan brought confusion between man’s desire for God with fleshly desire within man for himself.

Apart from my desire for the Lord, some of my strongest and most passionate desires, that drive me in life, are for my family and for the church.

I desire that my marriage grow richer and stronger everyday. That every day I can look into my wife’s eyes and still make her melt. That her days are filled with joy and peace and she never has to experience sorrow. For my children, I desire that they never cease to follow hard after the Lord and honor Him with their whole hearts. That they continually discover His goodness and His desires for their lives as they fulfill all He has destined. I desire for their lives be filled with joy, peace, goodness, and the eternal favor of the Lord. I desire that through the struggles and hardships that life will bring, they will only grow deeper in love with Jesus and trust Him all the more. I desire that I do not fail those who look to me, who trust me and that I do not fail the Lord.

For the Lord’s Bride, I desire to see her increase with the redeemed souls of men. To see her made ready for her soon coming Savior.

For Jubilee Church, I desire to see every man, woman and child truly living in the fulness of the stature of Christ. Each one chasing hard after God, continually growing in the wisdom, knowledge, and understanding of the Lord. I desire to see each family strong and healthy in every way. I desire that each heart be set on the Lord in absolute surrender. That each will fulfill the will of the Lord and honor Him with their whole heart. I desire to see Jubilee make an impact in our community that transforms broken lives; touches the nations; and brings increase that continues for generations to come. I desire to see my children’s children loving the Lord and serving the King of Kings. My greatest desire for my family and for Jubilee is simply that each one just sincerely and fully love and live for Jesus.

The word desire in Hebrew comes in many forms. A few include:

Teshuqah - desire or longing תְּשׁוּקָה

Ta’awah - wish, yearning, sighing, craving תַּאֲוָה

Nefesh - throat, neck, breath, life, soul נֶפֶשׁ

‘Awwah - heated desire or passionate longing אַוָּה

But in 1 Kings 8:54-55, King Solomon lifts a prayer to the Lord for the people of Israel. In this prayer he uses another word for “desire”.

Solomon uses the word “nth” נטה meaning to incline, bow, to stretch, spread forth, or lengthen or extend as a measuring line. God measures our hearts by our motives and desires. And Solomon prays that his and Israel’s hearts be found not lacking in desire for the Lord.

1 Kings 8:54–55 ESV

Now as Solomon finished offering all this prayer and plea to the Lord, he arose from before the altar of the Lord, where he had knelt with hands outstretched toward heaven. And he stood and blessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying,

1 Kings 8:56–57 ESV

“Blessed be the Lord who has given rest to his people Israel, according to all that he promised. Not one word has failed of all his good promise, which he spoke by Moses his servant. The Lord our God be with us, as he was with our fathers. May he not leave us or forsake us,

1 Kings 8:58–59 ESV

that he may incline our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments, his statutes, and his rules, which he commanded our fathers. Let these words of mine, with which I have pleaded before the Lord, be near to the Lord our God day and night, and may he maintain the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Israel, as each day requires,

1 Kings 8:60–61 ESV

that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God; there is no other. Let your heart therefore be wholly true to the Lord our God, walking in his statutes and keeping his commandments, as at this day.”

I don’t know about your life, but in mine, not one single promise of God has failed me not once. But I have failed His promises plenty. Yet, through it all God has not only been faithfully present but immutable (unchanging). Think about that. The only thing that never changes is God. The only thing you can place your eternal dependency on is the Lord. Not once has He forsaken me or changed His great love toward a repentant heart.

As Solomon prayed, this too is my hearts desire. I desire that God may “nth” נטה or incline, stretch, spread forth, lengthen and strengthen my inner most being to live every moment of my life to please His heart. When my heart is measured may my desires look like His. That my heart fully bow and desire Him above all else and hear His voice. That my heart be measured and found fully extended towards His.

In all my years of parenting and pastoring I have resolved that I cannot force the hearts desire. I could preach with the greatest of articulation, the deepest revelations, and the most profound presentation and none of it will change the heart of those who are not inclined to hear it, to receive it and truly live it. I can instill much discipline and learning in my children, but I have to lead them to the place that they choose the Lord. I can confront deceived and wicked man but only the Holy Spirit can transform the human heart and free it from it’s fallen condition. I can confront immorality and try to motivate people to love Christ more but if they have no desire or there are things in this life they desire more than Christ, they will eventually walk away.

I have had many desires throughout my life. I desired to be a professional football player, a motocross racer, a bull rider, an artist, and an elite soldier. I have desired increased income, praises of men, affirmation of my father, success, accolades, awards, and the love of my family. I have desired to live and not die, I have desired the best for my children, and the affection of only one woman forever. I desire to be a good husband and father; a good brother, friend and pastor that honors God and makes a difference in other’s lives. But through it all, I have realized that it all comes down to this, to desire Christ first and foremost. In my youth I had no desire to serve in ministry. There are those who desire it for reputation sake and monetary gain. Those have somewhat eluded me. The only explanation I can give for myself is a desire to please the Lord. I have been broken again and again.

As a pastor, whose only motivation is to see peoples lives enriched by living Christ, I have confronted ethical discrepancies, moral depravities, and improprieties most often to be met with defiance and told that it was not any of my business. I have stood dogmatic in the principles of God considering any slight of God’s precepts a grave travesty. I have been wounded deeply many times over in the house of my Father. I have not had a ministry filled with signs and wonders; I have not hosted crusades of thousands; nor are my books best sellers. I am not an entertainer, rock star preacher or pastor of a mega church. But I am faithful to the love of the Lord. I have quit ministry thousands of times. But always brings me back is this, “I love You Lord.” At this point in my life, I don’t even care if He says to me, “Well done.” I just want to stand before Him and hear Him call me Son.

Where is your heart today? Is your heart inclined toward the Lord?