Joy of Our Desire

Phil 3:8. " What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ"

Paul in this verse was contrasting his former life as a Pharisee and a scholar with the present advantage of knowing the Lord Jesus Christ. He states that he had suffered the loss of all things that he might gain Christ. In this day and age of our's we have forgotten what it means to pursue after Christ. We tend to think that He is there for us and so we cling to Him for the purpose of gaining all things we desire or think we deserve in our relationship with Him. In reality, Jesus did suffer the loss of all things for us (Phil. 2:5-8). So isn't it time for us to humble ourselves as He did so that we might gain nothing but Christ? Human nature is such that we gripe and complain for the one thing that we don't have. It does not matter if we have a whole lot of other things. It does not matter if we have been blessed in so many other ways. We struggle with God when we don't have the one thing that we can't seem to get. Perhaps its a love relationship, a child, financial freedom, a better job or position in life, recognition, privacy. Don't get me wrong . God is not opposed to blessing us with our needs and desires ( Matt 6:32). The question is this. Are we in it for the blessing or would we love and serve and revere Him as God even if we don't receive certain blessings that we long for? Are we willing to suffer the loss of relationships, wealth, recognition, comfort, financial freedom and position, if that is what He wants? It's going to be really difficult because we as human beings have feelings and needs but most of all we don't see God's full purpose. This is where we rely on the grace of God. When we look in faith to His grace, we need to know first who He is. Is He dependable? Will He give us things that we don't like or will He bless us with our heart's desire? It is His desire to bless us, but we must be willing to lose everything to find Him because in Him are all things, (Col. 1:17) and He is the joy of our desire.

" I am Thine O Lord, I have heard Thy voice, and it told Thy love to me. But I long to rise in the arms of faith and be closer drawn to Thee. Draw me nearer, nearer blessed Lord, to the cross where Thou has died. Draw me nearer, nearer blessed Lord, to Thy precious bleeding side" Fanny J. Crosby.