Everyone who’s had a taste of this life knows that the human experience is rife with desires. Within us dwell a mixture of appetites, both good and bad constantly vying for our attention, however sometimes we find it difficult to define precisely what it is that lies at the root of what it is we really wish for. Many express this in words like ‘I lack something, but I don’t know what.’
Desire is God’s gift
When the Lord touches our heart in a new way, such as in a retreat or some other experience, we start to desire to pray and seek God. Something, acting as a motor, a supernatural grace, is stirred within us and we can feel like we are being made whole.
Christian spirituality is all about desire: God’s desire for us and our desire for Him, but we all know that along the way, that desire can either begin to wane or even disappear altogether.
Cultivating Desire
In Lent, we can take the time to cultivating our desire for God. Those who turn to Jesus wholeheartedly, who set their vision on eternal life, who experience that the passion for caring for others is rooted in our passion for the Lord, there is a true joy. Yes we do experience setbacks, painful moments and suffering at times.
But we also know that God
‘fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them’ (Psa. 145:19).
The alternative is frightening: to be captive to a swarm of different passions and desires which end up leaving us empty, crowding God out and if we are not careful even jeopardising the goal of our faith, the salvation of our souls (1 Peter 1:9).
Try praying Psalms 27, 63 and 73 and ask the Lord to awaken in you the same desires expressed by the Psalmist!