Holy Desire

9-21-2010 by Boyd Bailey

Holy Desire


“As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?” Psalm 42:1-2

Holy desire has to hear from heaven. There is a devotion and determination to know God in the splendor of His holiness. A soul captured by holy desire is not satisfied until it sees Jesus and the glory of His grace. It is an inner interest in the eternal that is not content with the earthly. Things of earth grow dim, as holy desire reverently reaches for heaven.

Jesus says blessings comes when holy desire is the motivation of a life surrendered to Him, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” (Matthew 5:6). Am I willing to miss a meal, so my heart and soul can first be fed by faith? When our soul’s thirsty affections are consecrated to Christ, it has to drink from the fountain of faith and be hydrated by heaven. Holy desire must meaningfully meet God.

Where can we go to meet the Lord? We can meet Him in the privacy of our home or in the public arena of worship at church. We can meet Him in the outdoor sanctuary of His incredible creation or in an indoor prayer meeting. Jesus can be found in a hospital’s intensive care unit, maternity ward or in the humble care of hospice at home.

Meetings with God are only limited by a mind that categorizes Christ into the sacred and the secular. This is why during an intense time of meetings at work you can pray and ask the Lord to give you the love and discipline to serve people well. In your responsibilities at home you can play worship music and transform your domestic duties into a sacrifice of service to heaven. Holy desire is meant to be integrated into our faith and work-life.

The heart of a devoted disciple is captured by divine desire and holy intent. You want to know Him better, so you will follow Him better. You want to love Him better, so you will love people better. You want to serve Him unselfishly, so you will serve others selflessly. You only want Him, because you know in your heart this is all you need.

Holy desire is the need to know Christ in the middle of suffering, in the mundane activities of everyday life and on the mountaintop of happiness. Paul expressed it perfectly, “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead” (Philippians 3:10-11).

Are all of my desires captured by the one desire of knowing Christ?

Related Readings: Deuteronomy 10:12; Psalm 37:4; Luke 24:32; Romans 12:11