Where do our hearts desires come from?

FROM Open Doors Youth ON 2009 07 22 COMMENTS SO FAR (0)

Written by James: UK.

I had an epileptic fit yesterday and ended up in hospital near Waterloo station, London. I had no major injuries, and could have gone home almost straightaway. The reason I couldn’t? Swine flu. Or rather, fear of swine flu.

There were doctors and nurses wearing face masks to go into cubicles, many of whom had reported they were afraid they had swine flu. They didn’t wear one to come into mine, fortunately. Honestly, it looked like something out of Star Wars, it was almost comedy.

It reminded me just how much of our culture is based out of fear. We either do things or don’t do things often because of fear.

I mean the media hype and stir up panic among the people with their sensational stories - and that’s the cause of the panic. Not the actual disease, although its right to take precautions against it, but the fear of it is so much more powerful than the reality. Fear makes us paranoid, tense, on edge, nervous, worried all the time. Yet there are other diseases out there just as bad if not worse which people don’t seem to be worried about at all.

In 1986 Live Aid did the exact same things. A report on BBC news sparked a desire amongst people to do something about poverty in Africa. This sparked off Live Aid and then that sparked USA for Africa. We were all worried and afraid of what might happen to these people, we all saw the reality and were compelled to do something.

The thing was, that the famine was going on for months before, poverty was there a long time before, and yet we did nothing. People got criticised for not doing something, by people who themselves were doing nothing until suddenly it became fashionable to do something.

Make Poverty History is a more recent example. Everyone had to have the wristband, poverty was a huge problem and we had to do something about it. So we had the Live 8 concert and had the wristbands.

What now? Hardly anyone still has the wristband, people rarely talk about it and there’s hardly anything in mainline media.

The thing is, poverty is still a huge problem. As much as ever. Yet no one is panicing about it or rushing to do something about it anymore. Famous people aren’t campaigning in the same way as they were.

All it goes to prove is how much power fear and the media have over our lives. Its scary really. Think about the things you want the most.

Why do you want the things you want?
Who told you that you needed them or wanted them?
Where did you get that idea from?

In Christian circles, we are told by preachers, teachers and writers what God wants.

How often do we actually think about what God wants or what we want, rather than hearing it second hand?

Spend some time in the quiet.

Turn off the tv.
Turn off the radio.
Turn off your computer and your i-pod.
Turn off your phone.
If you can, silence the voices in your head.

Then just ask God to come in and speak to you, to tell you what He wants to do. Have a Bible at hand ready if God wants to use it or speak through it.

Be patient. Listen carefully.

Then maybe, you might see the desires of your heart and the desires of God’s heart.

Just like James has written, God’s desire for your heart might be for those torn by poverty. Or what about the homeless? The helpless? The hungry? The needy? The sick? Open Doors’ heart’s desire is to serve the Persecuted Church. Those who share our faith but not our freedom. If you feel God is pulling your heart strings for his suffering children, get involved in Shockwave 2010!!

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