Something I love to do is listen to podcasts. One of my favorite more light-hearted ones is the Candace Cameron Bure podcast! As a child “of the 80s and 90s”, it is fun to see her all grown up, loving Jesus, sharing her testimony and life honestly with us! (If you don’t know, she was on Full House and now a new version of the show.)
Candace has a new guest for this season on her podcast: Bianca Juarez Olthoff. They were talking just this week about the difference between desires and promises, as someone had written in asking how to know if something we want is really something God has promised us! This question (and answer) really matters! Bianca explained that desires may be from God, or they may not, like a woman wanting a child is a desire. But a promise is more specific, like Sarah & Abraham wanting a child and God promising against all odds that they would have one. Also, we often want things that are very good, but we have to be careful to only “claim” and stand on actual promises of God that are in His Word. (That is my opinion, anyway.)
The promises of God are plentiful…I think there’s a good chance we could stay busy mentally, emotionally, relationally, spiritually, forever, just seeking out what His promises are to us today and looking to Him to fulfill them! That would be a much better pastime than the jealousy, discontent, frustration, and rat race that we unfortunately fall into when our life is instead based on just hopes, dreams, and desires – things we want to accomplish, be known for, possess.
But does that mean we can’t have hopes, dreams, and desires?
Absolutely not. It means we learn the difference between desires and promises, and we prioritize them with a heart of surrender to God. After all, as believers we actually are here on earth to fulfill His purposes, not ours. (Yes, that hurts my feelings, too. But it’s better this way, I promise!)
So I just want to write a few things that I feel like God put on my heart to share about this topic, questions actually, that might help us think and prioritize and perhaps find a real sense of peace right where we are.
-What are the desires I am clinging to or working toward?
-Are these promises from God or just desires that He may or may not have promised the fulfillment of?
-What scriptures back up my belief that these are His promises?
-Are these promises for my earthly lifetime or possibly my heavenly eternity?
-What desires do I need to surrender to Him, trading them in (in their importance to me or just altogether letting go of them) for the actual promises God has made me in His Word?
-How do I feel about some of my desires maybe not ever being fulfilled? Be honest with the Lord. He really does care!
-What promises am I going to really cling to and keep praying back to God, thanking Him and waiting for the fruition of them?
This can be the difference between a joyful, content life and a complaining, disappointed, critical one. The same set of circumstances could happen to two different people but one could learn to live their life leaning into His promises with faith that delights His heart and the other could choose to live their life leaning into their desires with striving and frustration, missing out.
Thank You, Jesus, for how You transform us by the renewing of our minds! (Romans 12:2)
