Humans have a lot of gifts. And I’m not talking about spiritual gifts. We have those, too (duh), but we all have certain things that we’re amazingly good at, and the combination of gifts is different for each individual. Some can sing, some can draw, some can act, some can run, some love animals…the list goes on and on.
And there’s a reason for that. God undoubtedly asks us to do things we don’t want to do. But what I’ve realized after knowing him for a while is that he also asks us to do things that we passionately love to do, because he put that passion inside of us.
So many people have it in their heads that living the righteous life God wants for us means begrudgingly sacrificing everything we love. I’m not saying he doesn’t ask for sacrifice, because he will. But he crafted us and put certain desires in our hearts for a reason — just read Psalm 139. He wants us to serve him, but he’s such a good master that a lot of the time, he asks us to serve him through what we love.
In Matthew 7:21-23, Jesus says this: “‘Not everyone who says to me ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’”
If we love God, we willingly give, serve, sacrifice, and love selflessly, which is really tough sometimes. But Jesus told the “evildoers” in this passage that he never knew them.
Our God is a personal God, and he wants us to know him as well as he knows us. And if we truly know him, we recognize that his compassionate heart is combined with creativity. His brilliant mind put talents and abilities and desires inside of us that he wants us to use.
I’ve been asking myself if it’s selfish to pursue my passions; to do the things my heart aches to do. Is it wrong to chase after my horse dream?
So I did plenty of Bible reading and searching, and came to a conclusion: No. It is not selfish, and it is not wrong. Human desire is tricky; our hearts want a variety of different things, good and bad. We have to ask ourselves if what we desire will glorify God or satisfy our flesh. And I truly believe that when God sees his creation doing what it was meant to do, from gymnastics to origami, he looks down on us and says, “Yes! Look at what my child can do! I taught her to do that, you know.”
That being said, God always must come first. We can’t ignore the call to do things we don’t understand; that we aren’t “cut out” for. Exhibit A: three months in Cambodia teaching English and playing with kids. It’s a fact that God disciplines those he loves. But he’s not up there with a whip in hand, telling us to work harder and faster. He delights in us– in every fiber of our being, including the little fibers of holy desire that he put inside of us.
God’s a good guy. He’s a Father who cares for his children and knows them by heart. When we ask him what he wants from us, sometimes he asks us to do something odd and “unfitting.” But all of us need to pay attention to that craving that’s been inside of us since the day we were born. Chances are God put it there with a smile on his face and a plan in his heart.
“Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” — Psalm 137:4
