Have you ever wanted something so badly that you were tempted
to manipulate the circumstances so that it comes true? What’s wrong with “lining up a few things” or
“talking to all the right people about it”?
Is that the right thing to do?
It’s not easy – especially when you are convinced that it is either
something you deserve or something that would make everything in your life
better.
Wanting something isn’t necessarily bad, but when that
“something” becomes the end goal and consumes our thoughts, we end up
discontent because that thing was never meant to fulfill us. Only Christ can fulfill us.
Romans 12:2 teaches us to learn to rely on
God in these situations:
“Don’t copy the behavior
and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by
changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you,
which is good and pleasing and perfect.”
Personally, I have learned that in these circumstances, we
have to do a few things:
( (1)
Recognize
that when we want something really badly, that desire can cloud our judgement
regarding taking action to achieve it. For
example, it’s wise to have your acceptance speech prepared for that special
award, but don’t contact the judges to influence them in your direction!
(2)
Stop
thinking about it all the time because it influences you to dwell on the things
you can’t control. For example, if
you’re not thinking about it all the time, you won’t be tempted to pester your
boss about the promotion. In that
instance, it’s best to mention it once and be done with it so you can move on
to more productive things.
( (3)
Pray
that God will take away that desire to influence the situation and to accept
the outcome. God can make a real
difference if you ask him to. More than
once, I’ve asked God to please soften my desire for something so that I can focus
on other things that are pleasing to Him.
Before I knew it, I had lost the tendency to think about the issue all
the time and I became a much better person for it!
