77: New Desires
After it rains the ground is wet. When you walk up to your car in the morning and the window is smashed, you know someone broke into your car. When you find a bag of fresh vegetables on your doorstep, you know your neighbor stopped by. Evidence indicates that something has happened. Over the next three days, I want you to look at the evidence of God’s grace in your life.
Grace has happened in your life. God has not just left it on your doorstep but He has infected your heart with it. He never stops thinking about you, he is constantly with us all the time, everywhere. I love the Zephaniah 3:17 passage;
“The Lord your God is with you,
he is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
he will quiet you with his love,
he will rejoice over you with singing.”
I want to encourage you to examine your life for “evidence of grace”. Because God’s grace is always flooding our hearts then we should be able to see evidence of it in our lives. While God’s grace through Jesus is infinite let’s look at one specific area of our lives where we see this evidence.
That area is what I call New Desires
Passage: Galatians 5:16-26
16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 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 whatever[a] you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
As we grow in our relationship with Christ, he produces fruit in our lives through His Spirit. I like to call this fruit new desires that well up inside of us. These desires were not a part of us before we became a Christian, but now they are undeniable.
Do you have the desire to know God more intimately through reading His Word? The fact that you value God’s Word and love to read, study and hear it is evidence of grace.
Do you desire to commune with God deeper through prayer? You have seen God give you peace in excruciating circumstances, answer your prayers, and move you to take risks because you prayed. Prayer is evidence of God’s grace.
You also have a new desire to worship. Worship happens all day, every day and hopefully, as you walk through your day you have a new desire to praise God for who he is and what he’s doing.
Maybe your music library has changed over the last few years to have more worship music to keep your mind focused on Christ.
Maybe it’s a lot easier to get up on Sunday mornings and head to church, looking forward to worshiping Him with your heart, soul, strength and mind. Again, a desire to worship is evidence of grace.
I want to encourage you to take some time to write out some of the new desires that you have now that you didn’t have before you were a Christian or you feel have grown to desire. This is evidence that the gospel is actively working in your life, transforming you into Christ’s likeness. Because we all know, it’s the gospel that changes everything.