Four Categories of Desire – Part 2

Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. Psalms 37:4

The desire to achieve: The first thing God said to Adam was, ‘Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and… have dominion’ (Genesis 1:28). The reason you have such a strong desire to accomplish something in life is because God created you to ‘do it’. Few people were more motivated by achievement than Paul: ‘My life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned to me by the Lord Jesus’ (Acts 20:24). God didn’t take away Paul’s desire to achieve; He harnessed it so Paul could fulfil God’s will. A strong career drive accompanied by the desire to learn and achieve can be good things, unless they lead to workaholism, worshipping status, neglecting prayer, and manipulating other people. When that happens, you need to re-evaluate your motivation. But if that’s not the case and you find yourself growing in God with a fire inside you to accomplish something – go forth and achieve. Exercise dominion! Use your ability to accomplish good things for others. At that point, whether you’re contributing to a meeting, adding value to a team, or formulating ideas, you’ll know it’s more than just you. When you develop relational skills that enable you to bond with clients and associates, you can simultaneously pray for them and bless them. As you experience joy in your achievements, your life is pleasing to God. A word of advice: every now and then, remember to stop and thank Him that you get to do something you love!

Prayer
Heavenly Father, please keep my reason for what I do in check and forgive me when my motivation is anything but to bring glory to You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen