Maybe you can relate to Andrea.
She was the assistant to the events director of a medium-sized company. She got along with the director well enough, but she really felt she could do a better job than her boss. As they worked on many different types of events, Andrea had to choose whether she should give her all to the assignments that she knew would be credited to her boss by the company’s president, not to Andrea. She prayed and worked with all her might, overcoming the urge to give just enough rather than the excellence she knew she could give.
After a decade, her boss transferred to another company and the job was given to Andrea. She was elated, but after a year in the position, she realized she didn’t really like being the boss. She had much more joy assisting than being responsible for everything.
We all have wishes and desires. Knowing where those desires spring from is very important to our ultimate success and happiness. When a desire enters your mind, take a moment to analyze its source.
The cliche “the grass is greener on the other side” speaks to how other people’s lives or situations always seem better than your own. Envy can be an erroneous source of a desire that might not be our best choice. In Andrea’s situation above, we see that her lack of recognition for her work and talents set her up for a desire that ended up being very unfulfilling.
1 Corinthians 10:23 reminds us,
“Everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible, but not everything is edifying.”
In our contemporary world, there are greater opportunities for women to enter careers once thought of as male-only vocations. “You can be anything you want to be,” is becoming more of a reality for our daughters. So how are we to process this verse? Psalm 37:5 “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” This is not just a quick “love ya” God, you are to delight yourself in who the Lord is, His nature, and His desires for You. As you do, your desires become one with His and He will give you grace to succeed.
If you are not sure about trusting God to have your best in His heart, check out Jeremiah 29:11 it says
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
He refuses to have plans and desires for your life that can hurt you. Have you met a Christian woman who is always, “strung out.” She is trying to dog paddle above the surface of duties she has as wife, mother, entrepreneur, etc. She is always late, always tired, always pressed beyond her limit. I know such women and they are not merging their desires with God’s. He tells us that His yoke is easy… either He is a liar in the case of these women, or their desires are out of kilter with God’s timing or direction.
How can you tell whether your desires will receive the grace needed to succeed without manipulation on your part? You have to listen! Psalm 32:8,
“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.”
He will guide you—pinky promise!
Your desires may take quite a bit of work to achieve. God is a good Father and just doesn’t give us our “success candy” to replace those experiences we need to develop our character along the journey to success. Proverbs 3:5-6,
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”
Sometimes, God will make your paths straight in ways you didn’t think would ever be your desire. He can take a nobody and make her a queen when she isn’t looking. Remember the Israelite captive who became not only a queen but saved her people from annihilation. Like Esther, “Perhaps you were born for such a time as this.” (Esther 4:14)
God gave us dreams so that we would bring His kingdom to bear on this Earth. Is your wish also God’s wish for you? Has He laid out a path for you to choose that will bring fulfillment for you and a legacy for Him? It is not too late to take some time away from the obligations that tug at you and spend it with your Father, the center of your life’s desires.
Have fun dreaming with your God!
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