A Bible verse about desire:
“I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.” Psalm 40:8
A starting context; Merriam-Webster defines desire as “to long or hope for.”
I long to do the will of God. To me, that’s the irony of Christianity. We long for something that we’ll never know. I’ve spoken in the past about not knowing God’s plan. How do I fit in? I think that’s the eternal question of the human condition.
It would be so much easier if God spoke to me like the prophets of the past. I’d like to think that I wouldn’t try to run like Jonah. If only I had the opportunity to learn why I’m here and what my purpose is.
Maybe that’s the point; this is all philosophical, but perhaps we don’t reach the destination. Maybe the human life is to be spent desiring and never attaining.
It’s quite possible that I could spend my life desiring to accomplish the will of God without actually attaining that. That doesn’t mean that my efforts were in vain. Merely, it means that my life would be spent seeking something greater, and I don’t think that’s in vain.
A bigger question, in this sense, is that of God’s law.
There’s the “law of Moses,” or the Ten Commandments. Then, there’s the Commandments of Jesus.:
“Jesus replied “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:37-40
Jesus himself affirmed that the Ten Commandments are built upon the aforementioned two. Therefore, the “Law” consists of the Two Commandments.
This is a topic that I speak of throughout a book that I’ve written, but let’s discuss it in the context of today’s verse.
If God’s “Law” is within my heart, then that simply means to love God with all of my heart and all of my soul and all of my mind. Furthermore, I am to love my neighbor as myself.
That’s it. In practice, it’s not that simple. I believe that’s where desire comes in.
I desire to do the will of God. Even though I don’t know exactly what that entails, by keeping the Law, I’m off to a good start.
Since keeping the Law is difficult, at best, that’s why I’m left desiring – and never attaining it.
But, that won’t stop me from trying.
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