What you want, the Holy Spirit is training you not to want.
This is called being sanctified, it is not just leaving the cares of the world behind, it is the desires you have for it, the things that it can and does offer you.
“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” (Romans 12:2)
What we are being shown is that what we think we want is not actually what we desire, but those desires must have another option, our hearts must be shown what those things are that have eternal value. If we are to follow Colossians 3:2, “Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.” then we must know what those things are, or else we will continue to see only with our eyes.
That dark glass is not pitch black, we can see what we have been allowed to see of heaven and its glories, and here my friends is where you must see with the eyes of faith. Not your heart that will deceive you, not with your imagination, wrongly discerning what has been revealed to us, but with what the Word of God says.
We know for a fact we will be in the presence of joy, we know that pleasures forevermore await us, we read of streets of gold, jewels and gates of pearls, but these are all what we will inherit as heirs to the Kingdom of heaven. It is why we love 1st Corinthians 2:9.
“But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.”
We have never seen, heard of or can we imagine what awaits us, but this truth has been revealed to us. We will be loved eternally, we will finally know how to express our love for the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit, as well as to each other without the hindrance of our old sinful nature.
The truth that has set us free here will become an absolute truth when we get home.
“Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.” (Psalm 37:4)
Here, in this life is where we must contemplate our own heart and what those desires truly are, and to a degree, one of the best ways I know how to do that is to imagine myself one-hundred years from now in heaven.
We will need for nothing, so what then would you call a need today? Every member of the body of Christ will be our family, so why do you burden yourself with those of your family and friends today who have made it quite clear that they have no desire to repent? Pleasures forevermore are available throughout all eternity, what wants today can you even begin to compare with this truth?
Contemplate this question, besides those who do not yet serve the Lord Jesus Christ that you are praying for, what wants will you have in heaven that you want today?
This, my friends, is one of the main keys to contentment, and it is found when we accept the training of the Holy Spirit in assisting us to leave this world, all of it, behind.
“And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” (Job 1:21)
If you were going to move to a different planet and were assured that everything you could possibly need or want would be provided for you there, would you pack a bag, and what would you put in it?
Of things created by the Almighty, two things stand out that will never end, people and the Word of God. What are you being taught not to want, and what are you holding on to? What items of this world are you still seeking for, striving for, working by the sweat of your brow for and why?
“But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” (2nd Peter 3:10)
We must learn that saying, “I want” is not the same as “Thy will be done.”
Accept these truths, look around you, search your heart, where do your desires rest, what do you want? What do you hope to pack in that bag when it’s time to go?
