God, the searcher of the heart, knows fully our longings, yet he also understands the desires of the Spirit, because the Holy Spirit passionately pleads before God for us, his holy ones, in perfect harmony with God’s plan and our destiny. Romans 8:27 Passion Translation
This verse says that God fully knows our heart. Our heart contains our longings, thoughts, passions, desires, appetites, affections, purposes and endeavors. He knows this, because He made us in His image and has placed the desires of our hearts in us.
Furthermore, God wants to fulfill those desires! So much so that the Holy Spirit passionately pleads before God that they would indeed be fulfilled in such a way that that are in perfect harmony with our destiny—God’s personalized plans for our lives.
The Venn Diagram above shows a circle on the left that contain the longings in my heart. The one on the right show God’s plan and destiny for my life. The ideal is that the two circles would overlap 100%.
However, sometimes my desires may be twisted[1] and I may try to fulfill the desires that God has given me through a means other than through Him. For example, God has placed a sexual desire in us, and His plan for married people is to have that desire fulfilled through their spouse, but a twisted desire would be to attempt to fulfill it through pornography. Our twisted desires are represented by the part of the circle on the left that is not overlapping with God fulfilling those longings.
This morning in my time with God, I sensed an invitation from Him to slow down and for the two of us to interact about what my longings and desires are. First, I asked God to show me what my longings were and then asked Him to bring to mind scriptures that showed how He wanted to fulfill those desires that He has placed within me. Here is what I came up with:
| My Longings | God’s Plan and Destiny for Me |
| To be unconditionally loved | “I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness.” Jer 31:3 |
| To be forgiven, clean and righteous
|
…that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ… Phil 3:8-9 |
| To be accepted and belong
|
to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. NKJV Eph 1:6 |
| To be delighted in and be pleased with | … “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased!” Matt 3:17 |
| To be respected and honored | I have given them the glory that you gave me.. John 17:22 |
| To have meaning and purpose | “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule… Gen 1:28 |
On top of all this, the Holy Spirit is passionately pleading and interceding before God for this to be fulfilled—that our desires would indeed be met. He is saying, “I know that you are a good, good Father. Jeff would really like this. Therefore, please bless him with it.”
Isn’t it wonderful that God loves us so much that He wants to grant us our desires!
The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time. You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing… He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them. Ps 145:15-16, 19
Activation: What are the longings of your heart? Take some time with God to interact with Him about the desires that He has put on your heart and then come up with your own set of scriptures that show God’s desire to fulfill your desires.
[1] In the book The Invitation Tony Stotzfuz talks about this is detail.
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