Discontent isn’t innately bad. It can carry us away from God, but it can also bring us to him. The same is true of its twin brother, desire. It can tempt us to compromise, to sin, and to live a life of less. But desire can also woo us to goodness and glory—a life of more.
Your glory is not new, though the idea of it may be new to you, and it is connected to your desires. Paul wrote it this way: “It is God who is producing in you both the desire and the ability [i.e., your glory] to do what pleases him” (Philippians 2:13 ISV, emphasis mine).
What is it you most long to do?
What do you do when you aren’t even trying?
What do you do that brings Life to you and to others?
Pondering these questions will open amazing doors to more intimacy with God and more clarity as to why you are here.
What is it you want? Long for? Hope for? How you answer points toward the glory God has etched in you. You don’t manufacture it. And you can’t copy it from anyone else—because your glory is a part of you. It’s woven like gold threads into the fabric of your life, and if you pay attention, you’ll see it shining in the deep longings of your heart and the things that most make you come alive.
That’s why desire, rightly guided, is indispensable. That’s why it is a gift of God. It’s supposed to work like this: God will entrust you with a desire and then, in turn, invite you to trust him to bring it into reality. We don’t “make it happen.” However, we may need to do our part—which sometimes means just being still and waiting patiently in order to see God meet our desire. While we wait, we watch and trust that God is at work.
