I Want What I Want… You?
I sat at the kitchen table yesterday, perusing the ads from the Sunday paper.
Of course, I was drinking coffee.
And then, suddenly I realized I wanted stuff.
Like new dishes, where just the week before, I was enjoying the way the light reflected in my pretty, but simple and inexpensive red glass dishes…the ones I’ve owned for over a decade.
And new jeans…even though I cleaned out my drawers a few weeks ago, and saw that I had jeans that I hadn’t worn in a year.
And boots…because can you ever really own enough pairs of boots? Seriously, I might need therapy for this one…
Okay, just kidding…
But my “buy it second-hand” and “never pay retail” mantra was growing quieter than the voice in the face of the beautiful models showing off the dishes, jeans, boots…and all the other pretty things…
I even started talking about the dishes.
In my head, I was re-arranging cabinets, too. So these dishes that I didn’t need and didn’t own yet could fit.
And it was only later, as in HOURS later, I realized how easy it is to be swayed by that other guy.
How it can happen without us even realizing it…
Eve had a similar experience…
Genesis 3:1-5 NLT
1 Now the serpent was the shrewdest of all the creatures the LORD God had made. “Really?” he asked the woman. “Did God really say you must not eat any of the fruit in the garden?” 2 “Of course we may eat it,” the woman told him. 3 “It’s only the fruit from the tree at the center of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God says we must not eat it or even touch it, or we will die.” 4 “You won’t die!” the serpent hissed. 5 “God knows that your eyes will be opened when you eat it. You will become just like God, knowing everything, both good and evil.”
He set her up, then reeled her in.
She was also in the wrong place at the wrong time.
And she doubted.
How often does this happen with us? How often do we allow our thoughts or our bodies to be in the wrong place?
Like reading the ads, when we really don’t need to? Or actually going to the mall, just to wander around and shop? Or flipping through channels waiting for something to “catch our eye?” Or perusing fiction, talking too long with a male coworker, letting our thoughts dwell on how nice the soccer coach is to us and how attractive he is, wishing we (or our kids/husband/parents) were as eloquent/rich/pretty/thin/fit/smart/better/WHATEVER as someone else…or standing in front of the refrigerator, or cookie jar?
Let the coveting begin.
That other guy creates within us a want for something else, when God has created a want for Him… the enemy easily helps us switch our wants to the wrong things.
And at the center of it all is doubt of what we have as good, and want for something other than God… p r i d e.
I don’t know about you, but I struggle with these things – and I’m 100% sure that God’s Word in Phillipians 4:8-13 is full of power against this.
Notice it begins with right thinking, then obeying the Word, then follows with finding contentment, and THEN we get God’s strength.
8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, let me say one more thing as I close this letter. Fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. 9 Keep putting into practice all you learned from me and heard from me and saw me doing, and the God of peace will be with you. 10 How grateful I am, and how I praise the Lord that you are concerned about me again. I know you have always been concerned for me, but for a while you didn’t have the chance to help me. 11 Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to get along happily whether I have much or little. 12 I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. 13 For I can do everything with the help of Christ who gives me the strength I need. Phil 4:8-13 NLT (emphasis mine)
We have what we have now, regardless of what (or who) it is, because God wants us to have it.
Dare you to join me in finding what is godly in the NOW of what (and who) we have, being content, and accepting the strength that is readily offered to us as a result.
Dear God,
Thank You for being the God Who is everything. The One true God. The Creator of the Universe. The One Who knows me, sees me, and loves me best. Thank You for all You have given me…(dwell for a moment…think of all He has given you)…
Forgive me for coveting and repeating the original sin, the one of wanting something other than You.
Help me set up healthy boundaries in my life to want what You provide for me. Help me to avoid situations where I am tempted to want something else.
Help me fix my thoughts on what You would have me think about. Help me think about what is right in my circumstances, instead of listening to the enemy. Of the many trees in the garden, he had Eve focused on the one thing she couldn’t have. Help me get my thoughts right and help me trust You. Help me obey Your Word, and not listen to lies. Help me be wise to the ways of the enemy. Help me be content with what I have, instead of focusing on what I do not, regardless of what it is. Give me the strength I need in the moments of this day.
Thank You for Jesus. It’s in His name we pray.
Glad you are on the journey.
Love to you,
What about you? What do you struggle with wanting? How did the passage in Philippians connect with you today?
If you are a teen, or have teens doing the dating thing, you might check out Jordan’s awesome post on the TeenRespectDare.com blog today. Before you go, however, we’d love to hear from you here! 🙂
I want to be the wife God wants me to be. babysteps mentioned “I wish my husband this or that…” I can see that as coveting in a way, but I ask this so that I can understand, not so I can get myself off the hook: If I am hurting is it so wrong to wish my husband would see the hurt in me and ask how he can help me through it? If I am doing the things he has expected me to do (working full-time so we have health insurance, working extra hours to pay down bills, taking care of the house/farm, putting food up for the winter for our little family of 10, and trying to homeschool our kids) but cannot do them well and the kids and I are suffering is it wrong for me to wish my husband would find a job where he is home more than 1 day a week? He loves his job,but it leaves us all week and I cannot do what he expects. I want to understand why it is wrong for me to desire my husband’s companionship and teamwork and help with our family more than one day a week. We have always been fine on my income alone. Since he is gone so much, half of his paycheck goes just to paying his expenses. Then the half he gives me pays for the kids to be babysat instead of me being able to be with them. Please help me understand.
“Dare you to join me in finding what is godly in the NOW of what (and who) we have, being content, and accepting the strength that is readily offered to us as a result.”
But I don’t want to …. And it is the *want* that becomes the problem. My *want* has been given to me as a free gift with only the request that I offer it back to the Giver of all Good things as a willing sacrifice. My *want* is changing – at times it is manipulated by the enemy (by my own selfishness) and at times it is being refined in a Holy Fire that burns the “my” away.
Those verses in Phillipians 4 require something of me – a call to prayer:
*Be still
*Consider the beautiful (count my blessings)
*Remember Who He is
*Praise Him for His goodness
*Believe that He is with me
*Remember where I’ve been
*Remember that He never left me
*Act in obedience with confidence
And that was only in consideration of the one request to find the Godly in the NOW. My now is hard and my *want* is not completely selfish. Being content in my circumstance goes against all that I know (impossible) but being content in my circumstance with the knowledge and acceptance of His strength births the possible.
Well, you nailed me, dear sister, when you said you were thinking about new dishes. My immediate thought was, “Great! I have dibs on her old ones!” Then I read further………… Keep on keepin’ on! Love you!
The I-wishy-wants are pretty simple. I work to accept Gods timing. If we truly need it, it will come to us in Gods good time. I’ve had and lost so much so many times that I don’t see objects as augmenting my identity any longer, so I don’t really care too much so long as what I have works. Much like you I have come to pride myself on my ability to make do and to make something from nothing. That and cheese. I really love cheese. and chocolate.
I will admit to robbing piggy banks for cheese and chocolate though. I kind of see that as going into survival mode. When we’re tightened down past nearly nothing and I’m feeling like I just might waste away – physically I am in no danger of becoming transparent, but spiritually, I’m better when I’m fat, a block of cheese or a kitkat calls to me. You will find me mumbling under my breath, please! please! please! I’ve been a good girl, as I rifle the couches and the pockets of the pants in the laundry room. Just a bit more- a little, a couple dimes – enough silver change that I don’t feel like a total moron in the check out counting pennies while the person in line behind me hates at me with their eyes.
Hubbs of course doesn’t appreciate this, and actually finds it annoying since it takes my mind away from brainstorming better solutions to our financial challenges, or at the least takes me away from supporting him and cheering him on as he seeks solutions. I just can’t think without a certain amount of caffeine and sugar in my system though.
There are very few things I need, and what I truly need will come to me for having a sharp eye and an open mind and being willing to work with what is put in front of me. We’ve gotten spoiled. We turn our noses up at the small and dirty corner of a blessing poking out of the ground, mistaking a diamond for a bit of chewed gum, or a broken bottle. If we bent over, got on our knees and examined whats in front of us a bit more closely, we might find ourselves so enriched that we can be nothing but humbled and blessed.
I think because of my past I sort of have an aversion to material wants. I’ve seen people who are so amazingly empty inside try to fill themselves up with spending, and the result is that they get unhappier and unhappier, they want more and more and they can’t get full. There is no dollar amount that could ever be enough. Because of this I’ve kind of turned my back on any kind of material wanting and have resolved myself to be happy with whats in front of me.
I am addicted to “MORE”. Whatever I have in my life, I “need” MORE. This plays out in so many different areas of my life. It’s because I have a “hole in my soul that the wind blows thru”. I’m finally learning, (God’s Teaching me) that He created that hole and is the author of that desire in me. I am finding satisfaction in More of Him! The great thing is that as I get “enough” of Him, I become more satisfied with what I have of everything else.
I blog’d about it here:
http://itreallyisjustthatsimple.com/for-today-just-for-today/
Saturday was my 33rd birthday and like any woman (or human really) I like a good birthday gift! I asked my husband for a dry erase board and to please get the part to fix my van window because that was all I wanted! He listened, brought it home, and it wasnt the right one…of course! The actual part was about 25 dollars out of our affordable price range. He returned the wrong one and we agreed to wait for the more expensive part.
Just the night before I had a conversation with a friend of mine. They are struggling financially. We gave them some food from our freezer and pantry. God REALLY laid it in my spirit…”you can do more”. I went to the store on my birthday and spent the equivalent of my birthday gift on groceries to bless my friends. God reminded me, “they need food more than you need a birthday present”…and I totally agree!
Sunday we celebrated with my family. Last week when they asked me for gift ideas I told them IF they wanted to get me something, I would just like cash because I really needed a new jacket this year. I received $80.00 cash which (after an awesome coupon!) I was able to use for my jacket, a pair of pants, and 2 shirts PLUS still have a few bucks left over for a nice little treat one rainy afternoon! God totally knocked my socks off!
And my sweet husband…he gave me (with permission) a dry erase board that wasnt being used in the youth room at church and he MADE ME a beautiful figurine out of screws, nuts, bolts, etc. that he welded, shaped, and formed with his ows hands. She is a purple (my favorite color) queen, complete with a crown, and she is holding a heart in her hands. He said to me, “because you are the queen of my heart!” Best Birthday Ever!!!
I get this. I hear what you are saying. (okay I hope you mean not reading fiction to replace your Bible – because I’m not going to stop reading what feeds me fiction or no! 😉 )…but the stuff.
The stuff. My stuff that I lost in a divorce. My stuff buried in a shed. My stuff stored away while we wait to see where God sends us. My stuff given away at the pressuring of someone who thought it was ‘best for me’. I miss what I have and lost. I miss what I have and is packed away.
BUT. BUT. God provides us abundantly. And it is not a grieving over stuff rather a ‘I wish I had that handy’ because God has never let us down. He has never failed a promise. We have enough. WE have what we need. And here’s the cool thing – when we finally unpack it will be like all new stuff! How cool is that? Totally cool!
We know what we can do without, and we know how ‘low we can go’ on stuff – and we know why the things that matter to us matter. Like my God Bless This House that used to hang above my Grandma’s doorway. Or my wire cross.
And my son just now did his devotional and he said, “Mama – real joy comes from living for God, not living for stuff!” Amen. Amen.
I love it when God confirms what He’s doing. 🙂 Thanks so much, Shanyn!
Love to you,
~Nina
♥
love this: here’s the cool thing – when we finally unpack it will be like all new stuff! How cool is that? Totally cool!
Thanks.
Philippians 4:11 – 13 became one of my life verses when I was a teen…
I have been tempted over the years to be discontent with what I have but the Lord has been faithful to keep me from giving into those temptations most of the time. And in those times when I have slipped, He lovingly comes alongside me and reminds me of this verse. Since I have spent much in my life with little, it has helped me to truly appreciate times of abundance…
But I do want my husband to say, “I Love You” – to change his mind and not make me move out of our home – to not give up on our marriage… to be able to stay with our daughter – to accept the daily love and respect I give to him in the midst of the rejection….
But the Lord reminds me to be thankful — for each day that I have in our home with my husband and our daughter… that He has kept me there… a roof over my head – food to eat – an opportunity to show His love to him -to be able to say prayers with our daugher and tuck her in bed at night… Though I don’t know how much longer I will have these things, I will cherish them and give the Lord thanks for every moment…
Times like these are when I am reminded of how insignificant the “small things” really are and to truly be thankful for the Lord’s love, grace, and mercy and for the prayers of others…
Praying for your circumstances CW.
Whatever it is that tomorrow may hold, thankfullness for today will be the help that gets you through.
Amen! And thank you for your prayers!!!!
Just this morning I said to myself that I’d like a pair of boots that go higher up my calves… it is, after all, getting colder. I’m surprised I can sit down. I think I’ve gotten a spiritual spanking from the Lord every day for about a week now. What strikes me in this post is how often I whisper to myself, “I wish my husband…”. Fill in the blank… keep the yard nicer (like the neighbor), put his dishes in the dishwasher (like I do), empty the trash more, turn the volume down on the ever squawking TV, come to bed earlier, fix the back steps, be the spiritual leader (like so and so)… I realized as I read this post that I am coveting something/someone other than what God has given me. I’m in essence saying this man isn’t good enough. Wow. I’m going to have to chew on this for a while… maybe a long while.
babysteps, coupled with spiritual milk..
Yes, yes, a thousand times (and six pairs of boots worth) YES!
Me…yesterday…browsing the boot isle of the shoe store – (and dreaming of a pair I do not need…just thought I would want…) on my way to my spot in the Life Chain…yes,
LITERALLY
that sly one distracted me with ‘wants’ and ‘why not’s’ and ‘you deserve’s’
on my LITERAL way to standing up for others for HIM.
I am easily distracted by shiny objects…that God that He shines BRIGHTER!!!