Granting Our Desires

Today, a question was posed, "On a scale of 1 to 10, how much of our desires has God granted?"

While pondering upon this question, perhaps we could also ask ourselves what are our desires? What really, beyond all the superficial priorities in life, do we truly want for ourselves? Are we contented with what we have at the present moment or is there more we want? I think it brings us also to the question of what we can live without and what we cannot live without, what are our wants and what are our needs. What, then, are our real desires; desires that are, more often than not, hidden beyond our sight by the thick layers of societal influences that cause us distortions and distractions from the reality that lies at the deepest core of our hearts?

How often do we hear of people or even ourselves grumbling of a God who does not seem to care, a God who failed us, a God who does not answer when we call out to Him? We rate his "responsiveness" to our desires presented to Him on our wish-list as a 3 or 4 or even 1. Then, perhaps, we may like to consider, like mentioned above, what really are the things we ask God for because if He does not seem to be granting our desires, it would mean that our desires are not aligned to His. Where, then, are our hearts? Are they set in the right place so that our desires are one with His?

If we ask for a promotion or good grades for the exam, perhaps we may not get it. When did Jesus, in all His teachings, placed any importance to climbing up the corporate ladder and scoring well for the exams? If we ask for a smooth-sailing life, for an illness to be cured or for a period of hardship taken away from us, perhaps we may not get these that we want. When did Jesus, in all that He taught, revealed that a good life is one without pain and sufferings? If it was so, then Jesus must have lived a terribly bad life since His was a life of sufferings and selfless sacrifices.

But if we were to ask for the grace to forgive someone who hurt us deeply, will He not give? If we were to ask for the grace to love Him more deeply each day, to be more Christ-like in our dealings with others, will He not give? If we ask that in all we do each day, may God's Will be done and for His greater glory, will He not give? If we ask for the strength and trust to carry our daily crosses of hardships, struggles and sufferings, will He ignore? If we ask for the things that truly matter in God's eyes and make these our own desires, we can be sure that our "rating" for God's "responsiveness" to our desires will increase to a 9 or 10.

Jesus told us to seek first the Kingdom of God and all these other things will be given to us. God will, undoubtedly, grant our hearts' desires, if and only if our hearts are first set on Him. And before this can happen, we need wisdom, which is another grace to ask God for if this is what our heart truly desires. The ultimate fulfilment in life comes from living in union with God's Will for us, that which entails making His desires our own. God wants to give us the best and it is also in this "best" that He wants us to mature in our relationship with Him so that we may come to discover His will, His ways and be one with Him.

Do we have the courage to renounce the comfortable way of living we have long been accustomed to? Do we have the humility, wisdom and courage to acknowledge the we are not "right" all the time and then seek what God wants us to seek? What we think are essential in life may not be essential at all in God's eyes. Are we willing to accept and ponder on this possibility? Let us pray that God will grant us the wisdom and courage to question our own perceptions, beliefs and desires for the purpose of verification of how aligned they are to what God is really asking of us today. Let us also pray for the Holy Spirit's guidance.

30 July 2011, Saturday
11.33pm