Desires
You are created in God's image (Gen. 1:26). He has placed inside you deep desires that reflect his image.
He has made everything beautiful and appropriate in its time. He has also planted eternity (a sense of divine purpose) in the human heart (a mysterious longing which nothing under the sun can satisfy, except God) — yet man cannot find out (comprehend, grasp) what God has done (His overall plan) from the beginning to the end. — Ecclesiastes 3:11 (AMP)
We were created for eternity, for a Larger Story that is so great we cannot even fathom the beginning from the end. Yet there are glimpses of that story in scripture and echoes of that story hidden deep within our hearts, in the image of God within us.
The deep desires listed below draw you to God and can only be truly satisfied in the context of connection with God.
Deep Desires
- Purpose, to be part of something larger, transcendence
- Relationship: to love and be loved, to pursue and be pursued, community, family
- Impact, significance
- Honor, respect
- Known & valued: understood, heard, seen
- To protect and provide, to be protected and provided for, security, safety
- To come through: duty, to hear “well done”
- Beauty and creativity
- Justice and freedom
- Peace, wholeness, completion, home, order
Surface desires are connected to deep desires which, if explored more deeply, can lead you to discovering your deep desires animating these more superficial desires.
Surface/Temporal Desires
- Material: Money, a new car, house, jewelry, clothes, toys
- Experiential: A vacation, climb a mountain, walk in the woods, romance, sports, recreation, achievements, mother, father, husband, wife
- Positional: Motherhood, fatherhood, marriage, or a particular job or title in your vocation, avocation, or ministry
- Relational: Friendship, family, spouse, work