“Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:9-10)
Many of us are really busy people. We’re busy because we are competent and ambitious. We are dreamers of a better future, seeking to do great things with our lives. But, a critical question we need to ask ourselves here is this: What are the desires that are fueling my ambitions and dreams? Are my desires fleshly desires or real Kingdom desires? Are my dreams and ambitions really fueled by my love for God and His Kingdom, or fueled by my longing to be significant and valuable? Being aware of your motives and desires behind all that you do is critical in living a genuine God-centered life.
Our hearts are a lot more deceptive than you think, and so it is very dangerous to continue on with our busyness without reflecting over our hearts. Busyness without heart reflection is a feeding ground for Satan. He uses people who don’t do heart checks to tear apart relationships, infect amazing ministries, and slow down the advancement of the Kingdom. In the long run, a lack of heart reflection in our busy lives is destructive not only to ourselves, but to everyone around us.
The reality is that we all struggle deeply with this battle. We have genuine Kingdom desires birthed in us by the Spirit, but they are also mixed with fleshly, self-centered desires. As Christians, we can defeat sin and evil by learning how to watch over our hearts so that we can discern our fleshly desires from Kingdom desires. Here are four ways we can closely examine our actions and motives so that we can cultivate true Kingdom desires in our hearts.
1. Ask Yourself Heart-Searching Questions
Are my plans, ambitions, and dreams really fueled by my love for God and His Kingdom, or fueled by a desire to feel significant and valuable? Am I living my life to prove something, or to point others to Jesus?
Take a look at your spending habits. Where are you investing your money? What do your credit card bills reveal about what you really love and desire in life?
We constantly need to be asking ourselves these questions and checking our actions, because the fight to live for Christ is a lifelong battle. Struggles will come, but you can be encouraged because they are signs that you are spiritually awake and being sanctified.
Passivity is the real problem, so don’t be afraid of asking yourself these questions. Gather with a few people you trust and discuss these questions with one another. Speak into someone’s life, and let others speak into your life as well. The answers will only bring you closer to desiring the Kingdom above all things.
“Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.” (Proverbs 4:23)
2. Take a Sabbath
Another way we can watch over our hearts is by taking a Sabbath. A Sabbath is a day where we focus on enjoying the things of creation as a means of enjoying our Creator. God created all things, and so the good things of life such as nature, sports, food, and such, can be great blessings to our souls, pointing us to God’s goodness and character.
As busy people, we have a difficult time taking a Sabbath. We always feel like we have to be doing something, and the thought of not being productive or efficient brings us anxiety. Although there are times when we need to work hard and be productive, we need times of rest as well.
Rest is not merely doing nothing. It is being able to understand who God is, so that our knowledge may lead us into an enjoyment of who He is. Actually tasting the goodness of God in our souls is the key to cultivating authentic Kingdom desires in our hearts. If our busyness distracts us from knowing God, tasting His goodness, and enjoying a personal relationship with Him, then we can know that the desires fueling our activity are not Kingdom desires, but fleshly desires.
“But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:41-42)
3. Remember that We Need Grace
In order to be transformed, we need the grace of exposure to purify our desires. Just like how gold is refined in the fire, our desires are refined in God’s fire as well. He loves us, and so He will do a good work in our lives by exposing us to the weight of our sins. God usually does this by revealing to us our self-centered desires that are often hidden behind our zeal, busyness, and achievements.
Jesus did this in Peter’s life. The disciple had a passion for the Kingdom of God, and so he confidently told Jesus, “Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.” (Matthew 26:33). Peter also declared with boldness, “Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you!” (Matthew 26:35). Jesus saw right through him and told Peter that he will deny Him three times.
As we know, Peter did deny Christ, and through that, the disciple experienced the grace of exposure. During his moments of denial, Peter had realized that following Jesus might cost him his life, and so he was afraid and hid who he was. But God used this situation to show Peter that his love for Jesus was not as pure and bold as he once thought it was. In reality, he was following Jesus more for himself than for the Kingdom. But once that fear was exposed, God did an amazing work in Peter’s life, transforming him into one of the most courageous disciples who preached the Gospel boldly, even to the point of arrest and his future death.
Just like Peter, God will use situations, people, and any means He sees necessary to expose the impurities in our hearts. He uses loneliness, emptiness, sickness, failures, family members, annoying people, and so on. This process hurts, but it refines us.
When God exposes us, we will feel the weight of our sins, tears will fall, and it will break us. But after this exposure, God works a glorious, but mysterious work in our hearts, purifying our desires and cultivating in us stronger affections for Him. God first brings his servants low, and shows them that they are nothing by themselves before He uses them for some great work.
4. Dream for the Kingdom
In Matthew 7:22-23, Jesus gives us a very sober warning.
“On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’” (Matthew 7:22-23)
It is possible to accomplish great things and be “rockstar Christians” in the eyes of people, but be a million miles away from God. We cannot mistake accomplishments, leadership abilities, and talents for genuine Christian character and faith. Genuine Christianity is a movement propelled by an overwhelming desire for God and His Kingdom. Learn to question your motives behind all that you do. It is a very humbling exercise.
As you live your busy life, continue to be in the exercise of searching your heart. Seek after God with all your heart, and dream big for His everlasting Kingdom. As we commit our lives in doing this, God will surely help us, weeding out our fleshly desires, and empowering us to follow his will more and more in every aspect of our lives – even if it leads to much suffering and sacrifice. It does not matter whether you are a pastor, an artist, an office worker, or work in the medical field, we can all make a big impact in this world for the Kingdom of God.
Let’s live our lives growing in the love of Jesus, pointing others to Him, and investing our resources to the work of the Kingdom. There is truly no greater, and more satisfying purpose to live for than that.
“Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:9-10)