What do you want?

I want it.

You want it.

We all want it.

It’s that thing in you that your heart longs to feel.

It’s what keeps you up at night because the very thought of it scares and excites you all at the same time.

It’s a desire to be somebody worth knowing, worth trusting….or is it just the groaning to know worth at all?

You find it when you realize that everything you want you can’t have….and what you have no longer satisfies you.

You wake up in the morning and it’s all you think about…yet sleep makes you forget.

You cry about it.

You laugh about it.

You debate with yourself if it’s even real.

You feel the closest to having it when you’re looking at a majestic mountain or an endless ocean.

When the wind blows through the trees and for a moment you pause to listen…you hear it.

You would embrace it….but it would change you

It’s what you neglect when you’re the happiest.

It truly comes alive when life overwhelms you.

It’s what you know.

It’s what you’ll never understand.

What is it that we really want?

I’m going to challenge you to read that again. Except this time don’t try to figure out what I’m talking about. Throw your assumptions and intentions out and read it again. What is it you’re thinking about when you read these statements? What emotions are being provoked inside of you? Are you mad at the statements? Mad at me for writing them? Are you encouraged? Are you inspired? Are you confused? Read it again. Then read it again. Chances are that many of these statements are a daily occurrence for you. Maybe some of you don’t relate to any of these statements….although I would argue that you are not human. These statements are not to bring you to any conclusions to make you feel good or bad about yourself. I’m only trying to stir up that IT inside of you that you long to have or long to throw away. So read it one more time…..

I sit here today in the midst of one of the toughest times we in America have ever seen. The stock market is plummeting. Our economic future is scary at best. The Presidential Election is on the tip of everyone’s tongue and thoughts with no unification on the horizon. There’s talk of wars, disease, disaster, homelessness, poverty, and recession. Although all these things have been present in our world since the fall of man, why the sudden panic? Why now? Why in the times we live in today is only doom to follow? Are we really to think that because current bad times are affecting us in particular that the certain outcome is the end of the world?

I’m convinced that there is an enemy in this world that wants to consume you with so much worry and anxiety we stop listening to our heart’s cry. We live in a world that drowns out that voice in our hearts that are heard in the beginning statements I made above.

I beg you, just for a minute, close the world off around you. Forget politics. Forget debt. Forget worry. Forget mistakes. Forget war. Forget pride. Forget lust. Forget everything….

Listen. Do you hear it?

I’m telling you that TODAY there is a Savior waiting to rescue you. One who is rich in mercy and love. He longs to restore you. He by no means needs you but wants you more than you know. He made you for His delight and therefore delights in you.

My beginning statements could have been talking about a million different things in our lives. For some of you they are a million different things. But I believe that what you really want and what you desire is Jesus. You may not know Him but He knows you. You may not want Him today but He’s wanted you before you were born. I believe this desire that keeps some of us awake for hours or beckons at our hearts for years is Jesus; for when God created you He did so for His purpose and delight.

So YES…the ITS that you thought of at the beginning could be right on. But the beginning and end of those desires and fears is Christ. Just as any seed is defined as a predetermined vessel that will grow into what it was originally made for, so our creator God created us for His good and perfect will. You were made for a specific purpose; a life meant to be lived out glorifying the Lord in everything you do.

I’m sure for the most part many of you have given your heart to Jesus and have already let him purify you by the blood poured from the cross. Have you also surrendered your will? Surrendered your heart? Have I? Have I surrendered even my thoughts and intentions to him? These are questions you and I all need to answer.

So what do we really want?

If Jesus is your answer than continue to choose Him. Choose Him daily and deny yourself the torment of living outside of Him. If it’s not Jesus then I beg you to examine your life. If you’ve tried everything else in this world and it leads to emptiness when you’re alone then I ask to try one more time….try Jesus. Call on Him and I promise your voice we not land on deaf ears. Get a bible and start reading. Get connected to a church. Ask questions. Get answers. I promise you your life will change forever.

Let us all throw off all that so easily traps us to forget the voice and call to something greater in this life. The greater you desire is Jesus. Surrender to Him and those moments of agonizing questioning and wondering will bring on a whole new meaning. It will drive you to press in to Jesus and embrace the beautiful gift of grace. That heartache you feel when you know there is more is not to condemn you or bring you grief; it is a catalyst positioning you to a realization of the restoration that is attainable only through Jesus Christ. May you fully surrender to the mighty God of all….