The Beckoning – Chapter 4

                You walk through the woods. Ferns brush against your legs. The subtle scent of earth rises with each step.  The rich greens of the forest calm your soul. A soft rush is heard in the distance. Shouts, Giggles, and Squeals are interspersed amongst the upcoming trees. Your curiosity is peaked. Skinks scurry out of the way as you disturb their leisure. You pass a cabin, rustic and very old, that has hidden among the woods, out of sight and out of mind for many long years. A family still lives there, a couple that sought the seclusion of the wood. They rock on their front porch as you pass. As always, they smile and wave. Twigs crack underfoot. The rush amplifies. The giggling and shouts grow louder. You look ahead hoping to catch a glimpse of what’s going on. What’s making so many people happy?  You push low branches out of your way as you wind your way through the shrubs and low tree branches. Light is piercing the dense trees overhead as slowly the trees make room make room for … a river. Adults and kids alike are tubing, wading and swimming. Many are seen just briefly as they careen down the rushing river. A father and his daughter are splashing each other. Another boy just dove underwater only to reemerge moments later behind a screaming girl. She looks at him sternly and then her face softens as she reaches over and just kisses him. You who are so mesmerized by the unexpected joyful romp in the river that you lose your footing and slide down the somewhat steep embankment. You crash into the cool running water. After you regain your composure, a couple kids nearby just start laughing. You’re wet now so you might as well just enjoy it.

                Same scenario, different circumstances.  You walk through the woods. Ferns brush against you legs. Your footsteps are filled with water as you leave them. The ground is soggy and somewhat sour. The greens of the forest soothe your soul. A rush is heard, growing louder and louder with each step. Screams and cries suddenly pierce your ears. Your heart races as you rush ahead. You sink up to your knees in mud. Your eyes scan around. Something is missing. . . The cabin. It’s been here so long, what happened. Then you notice what looks like a roof amongst the bushes. As you climb out of the mud you see a rushing stream flowing right where the cabin once was. The roof is struggling against the current, but slowly is giving way. You look downstream and see the rest of the once peaceful cabin as it is swept away in what must be some sort of flashflood. What about the couple? You run down the stream in disbelief as you notice not one but several streams. They violently rip the forest apart. Many trees have lost their footing against the surge of the waters. Bushes are being uprooted as you run past. Desperately you look for the couple who called that cabin their home for at least 40 years. Finally you see the bent figure of a woman as she holds onto a piece of her home. Her husband is trying to pull her away, and she’s letting him, but very slowly as her home, food, and possessions are swept away. They see you and are making their way to you, when the man loses his footing and is captured by the ever growing stream. You look in horror as he disappears with the remnants of his home. The woman darts after him and is soon lost to sight. You are about to follow, when you hear more bloodcurdling screams and cries. You crawl across a fallen tree that is bridging the deadly stream. Just as you cross, the tree is taken. Wide-eyed you follow the screams until you come to a raging river, widening by the second. People who were tubing are being dragged downstream as they scream. Trees are falling and some even take the tubers down with them. A boy and girl are holding one another as they fight against the current, but at last they are taken under. You stand frozen. You are helpless to all these people. The river is strong and out of control. The boundaries that once contained it have been overthrown. A father lays prostate on the ever decreasing ground as he lost his grip on a treasure he called his daughter. He doesn’t care as the river takes him under. The screams subside for the moment. As your mind races what to do, you turn to run back the way you came, but the way is no more. You are on an island. All that surrounds you now are the icy fingers of death, as they grasp the ground to take you. The beautiful, strong river has ran out of control. Now what brought you such joy many times before brings you fear and darkness.

                Such is desire. Desire is a powerful and beautiful river. Desire is good. In the Journey of Desire, John Eldridge said, “At its core Christianity begins with an invitation to desire.”(1) Desire is begun in God (Psalm 37:4), and it should end in God (Song of Solomon). Desire out of God’s perfect boundaries causes devastation and destruction. If not corrected it will bring our demise.

                Desire is good. Psalm 37:4, “Delight thyself also in the LORD, and he shall give thee the desires of thy heart.” When I first read that, I thought that God would give me things I wanted. As the years have gone by I’ve come to realize that there is another way that the verse could be taken. It could be taken to mean that God puts the desires in our hearts that pleases Him.

                Then you could say “Well if God puts desire in people’s hearts, then why do people do wicked things?” Simply, God put the desire there, but we try to fill those desires with the wrong things. Someone with the desire for intimacy may direct that desire to an extra marital affair. Someone with a desire to provide for his family may take to dishonest gain. So it’s not the desire for intimacy or provision that are evil, but the way desire is directed. At the heart of all sins is a perverted desire.

                God gave us His desires as part of His image. His image runs all the way through us. We don’t realize how deep His image courses through our whole being. The desire for intimacy or provision are good things. God longs and desires intimacy (Song of Solomon) and God desires to give His Children good things (Luke 11:11-13, Matthew 7:9-11).

                How we direct our desires is the key. If we look at God’s word and see that we should only have sexual intimacy with our spouse, then we direct our desire’s his/her way. Even if our desires are unmet in our spouse, our desire for intimacy will always be met in Christ. Even if our relationship with our spouse is perfect, still we should always turn to Christ to meet our desires, ultimately. Remember our spouse is just a beautiful picture of Christ anyway. 

                If we direct our desires with God’s Word then they will bring life to us and those around us. If we choose to allow them to flow outside of His Word, then they bring destruction to ourselves and those around us. Just as in the story that I started with, people near us can be enriched by our desire or they can be destroyed by our desires. It all goes back to the crazy notion God had of giving us free will. Our actions not only affect us but also those around us. If we listen to Jesus and let our desire not only begin in Him but also flow to Him, then beautiful things will happen.

                Consider Martin Luther King Jr., he had desire to see African-Americans treated better. Of course, this is a

Godly desire. God’s will is for everyone to be treated with respect and dignity. Now Reverend King could have took this godly desire and allowed it to be fueled with bitterness and directed it against those people who treated African-Americans very cruelly. It would have been easy for him to do this. I know it would have been for me. Instead he chose to be fueled by love. He promoted a no violence policy. He chose to love His enemies. He led a powerful revolution fueled by love. Love never fails (1 Corinthians 13:8) His desire originated in God and flowed to God. Multitudes of lives were enriched and nourished by his strong desire. If he would have led a violent revolution fueled by hate and bitterness his desire would have destroyed many lives. Not only those of his enemies but those of his followers. His hatred would have run abroad and poisoned those who followed him. The desire was beautiful and strong and he directed it correctly and an untold many lives were enriched.

                How about the life of King David? We all know the story of David’s adultery (II Samuel 11-12). He was sitting on his rooftop, and then a woman caught his eye. Bathsheba, the wife of his loyal soldier, Uriah, was bathing.

‘Now the desire to have sexual intimacy with your wife is of course Godly. (May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth. A loving doe, a graceful deer — may her breasts satisfy you always, may you ever be captivated by her love. [Proverbs 5:18-19 NIV]) David took his Godly desire and directed it towards a woman that wasn’t his wife. He chose to let his river run out of God’s banks. Devastation followed. First, he defiled another man’s wife. Then to cover up his sin, he had Uriah, one of his most loyal subjects, placed on the front line of battle where he was sure to be killed. He was. Then Bathsheba became pregnant and the baby died at God’s righteous judgment.

                In addition, to the devastation in his own life, his desires which were directed toward sin, was an evil example for his children. Amnon decided to direct his desire for intimacy to his own sister (II Samuel 13:1-21). He pretended to be sick and he then insisted that his sister Tamar tend to him. When she came in he raped her. Absalom, another of David’s sons, directed his desire for worth towards building a kingdom for himself (II Samuel 15-18). His misdirected desires resulted in betrayal, pride, and murder. Finally, Solomon directed his desires for intimacy toward idolatrous woman who drew his heart away from the One who really cared for it (I Kings 11:1-9).

                On the flip side, David most consistently directed his desire correctly. He is the only one known in scripture as a man after God’s own heart. He had the ark of God’s presence brought back to Jerusalem (I Chronicles 13:3). He built a tent of praise to Yahweh, which is the only tabernacle that God says He will rebuild (I Chronicles 15:1, Acts 15:6). He stood up for Yahweh against countless armies. God breathed on him to write many psalms, which have enlightened, encouraged, and transformed many people. He repented sincerely for his sins (Psalm 51, II Samuel 12).

                We have all been truly enriched and nourished by the Psalms. Psalm 23 is a well known favorite. Psalm 139 is a personal favorite of mine. The life of David has encouraged many, from his stand against Goliath to his desire to please God. Israel was blessed by David’s victories against God’s enemies. Solomon was deeply inspired by his father. He, like his father, allowed God to speak through his hands and write 3 books of the Bible.

                There are different rivers in the earth. They run different courses. They bring life to different lands. There are major rivers. There are minor rivers. There are tributaries.  There are different desires among us. There is different directions that our desires flow. There are different people that are nourished by different desires.

                One desires to have a spouse. One desires to remain single. Some desire to become architects. Others desire to have a career in demolition. One desires to preach God’s Word. Another desires to sing. The One that wants a spouse may treat them as the child of God that they are. Another may abuse and stifle the gift that God has given them. The single person may have rejected the one God had prepared for them or they may be using their singleness as a gift to God. A contractor may build a beautiful house that brings comfort to the owners, or through his lack of knowledge and integrity may cause the new owner’s demise. Swimming may cause a person to be filled with joy and inspire others to jump in or they could swim foolishly and drown themselves or others. Someone preaches the Word of God with a message and lifestyle for God to effect change. Another preaches for his pride and lives a hypocritical lifestyle that causes many to stumble. The voice of one who sings may strengthen the souls of its hearers or it may glorify sinful living.

                Take all the wonderful desires God has given you and guide them with God’s Word. The man who desires a wife should love her as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself for it (Ephesians 5:25). He should love her as his own flesh (Ephesians 5:28). He should love her unconditionally (1 Corinthians 13). The single person should take their singleness and use it for Godly endeavors (I Corinthians 7:32). The builder should be guided with integrity (Romans 12:17). Someone who loves to swim should make sure he works hard also (II Thessalonians 3:10). The person who preaches the Word should also live the Word (James 1:22). The one who sings should make sure that God has given them a voice for others to be blessed by or one that blesses Him only (Psalm 98:4). Maybe vanity or pride makes them want to sing in front of others instead of love, or maybe like myself we haven’t had any instruction and just need some education.

                There is a third scenario with the river of desire. We can dam the river. We may be so afraid of this beautiful river. Maybe, we don’t trust God who gave us the desire or maybe we are so afraid of aiming desire incorrectly. The man who longs for intimacy may be tempted to have an affair. So instead of directing his desire for intimacy toward God (Song of Solomon) then to his wife, he dams it up.  He assumes that the desire itself is evil. Instead of being nourished by his desire and nourishing his wife he plays the coward and blocks its flow. Instead of directing his desire God’s way he stagnates. He becomes a pool of putrid water that doesn’t support life; indeed anyone who drinks it becomes sick. Just like stagnant water doesn’t flow so his life goes nowhere. It doesn’t cause admiration. It doesn’t even really invoke any response. No one’s desire is directed toward it. It’s sort of like the Story of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30). He plays it “safe”, he hides his desire. The desire is still there, but it’s buried. It does the bearer of the desire no good, and it definitely does no one else any good.

                Oh, I’m sure you remember that story about that guy…yea he really desired adventure…and he read the newspaper a lot and watched a lot of TV…yep everybody remembers him…well maybe not everyone….He desired to do a lot of good things…yea you have to remember him…don’t you?…well…you have to know his wife she loved to sing…no? Well no she never sung for anyone because she…I don’t really know why…but oh! Remember their son? I heard from Aunt Louise that heard it from Bill Pine, that was told by Martha who heard it from that one kid who read his essays, that he was a really good writer! …no…no, I don’t think he ever worked at it or got anything published, because he just told himself that he wasn’t even good, so he didn’t’ even try…you don’t remember any of them?…well, no I don’t know them either, but they could have done a lot of good and exciting things…Got the point? I thought so.

                I tried to think of an example of a known person who dammed their desire, but I couldn’t think of anyone. Maybe there’s a point to that too.

                In the Journey of Desire, John Eldridge says, “Dare we awaken our hearts to their true desires? Dare we come alive? Is it better, as the saying goes, to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all? We’re not so sure…Our dilemma is this: we can’t seem to live with desire, and we can’t live without it. In the face of this quandary most people decide to bury the whole question and put as much distance as they can between themselves and their desires. It is a logical and tragic act. The tragedy is increased tenfold when this suicide of soul is committed under the conviction that this is precisely what Christianity recommends. We have never been more mistaken.”(2)

                Guided by God’s Word (the banks of the river) the mighty river of Desire will lead you home. Don’t kill or bury your desire.  In the Bible God never tells us to do so, it just tells us what to desire.  Trust God with your desires. Continually invite Him to direct those desires to Himself. Don’t let others convince you to abandon desire, or to follow it out of the banks of God’s boundaries. Mike Bickle says in Passion for Jesus, “The cure for abuse is proper use not disuse.”(3) Desire is meant to be the heart’s road map home. It is the place where God beckons us near. Desire is the place where God whispers your name.

1. John Eldridge, The Journey of Desire (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2000), p. 35.

2. Ibid., p.30.

3. Mike Bickle, Passion for Jesus (Orlando, FL: Creation House, 1993), p. 152