What do you really want?
PART ONE OF FOUR
Taking time to articulate your desires is extremely valuable. The thoughts in your mind and the dreams of your heart can be unpacked and clarified, and this is a gift to your relationships. Knowing yourself, and having peace in your heart draws you into the highest and best version of yourself.
God loves to give us the desires of our heart
Psalm 37:4 says, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart”. Psalm 84:11 confirms, “No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly”.
Just like any loving Father, God loves to give you unexpected pleasures and happy surprises!
These experiences are the opposite of disappointment, and we want to invite you to expand your beliefs, to prepare you for having it ALL. What do you really want in your relationships? What do you really want in your life?
We Set ourselves up for FULFILLED DESIRES by choosing to agree with God’s promises and aligning our focus with His vision. Being proactive and specific with the desires of our hearts is part of this intentional process. And you’re worth it!
As we deep-dive into our desires, we tend to think we want the thing, the relationship, the success, the earthly experience, but deeper than that, we really want the bliss, the security, the peace, and the excitement.
Do you deserve your desires?
Many people get tripped up with desires of their heart, questioning whether they deserve them.
Journeying through our life story, in hindsight, we can see the mistakes and pitfalls. I (Audrey) after betraying Bob in our marriage had a shame issue, but I really had a BELIEF issue, which was rooted in a DESERVE issue. Short story, I felt guilty. There is no question that I chose wrong, I hurt others so I don’t deserve to be free. I deserve to be in an “invisible prison”, so I locked myself up with a life sentence. I became a prisoner from my judge and jury.
The good news is because I was the one to put myself IN that prison, I also have the power to walk OUT of that prison. Twenty years ago, I experienced the freedom of a prison break and I’ve never had to go back. That is your invitation as well!
There is a place of deserving, it’s justifiable not because of what I have done, but because of what Jesus has done and already paid for. The deepest desire of every human heart is to connect and display God’s radiance.
Guilt and shame - The Instant disqualifiers
Feeling guilt and shames INSTANTLY disqualifies us from receiving the desires of our hearts. Those promises from God don’t apply to me because I don’t walk “uprightly” and I don’t “delight in God” as good as others.
You have a choice to believe you’re forgiven and even favored. Start the journey! We want you to step into goodness, mercy, love, and unspeakable joy. Simply say the words, “I’m ready to step out of guilt prison, and start my life deserving God’s ultimate best.”
An entitlement mentality is demanding and self-serving. Entitlement, by definition, is “the fact of having a right to something.” However, when we feel grateful for everything life offers, deserving doesn't feel like entitlement, it feels like blessing and favor and belonging.
What do you deserve?
According to God’s promises, you can say this:
I am deserving. I deserve all good. Not some, not a little bit, but all good. So when I choose to move past all negative, restricting thoughts about myself, others and circumstances, I am released into the possibilities of everything I REALLY want.
I release and let go of the limitations of my parents. I love them, and I go beyond them. I am not their negative opinions, nor their limiting beliefs. I am not bound by any of the fears or prejudices. I no longer identify with limitations of any kind. In my mind, I have total freedom.
I release and let go of the limitations of people who have disappointed me. I receive mercy, therefore offer them mercy. I won’t give any more power to these words or situations of hurt and offense, because that will simply keep their power alive. I offer my words, thoughts, and focus to the best version of them.
Do I need to work harder?
Many of us were taught: Work hard. Sweat. Pay your dues. Fight through it. Put in the hours. Show up sick. Ignore it. Prove, earn, validate, repeat. Work harder. Complain less. Push a little more. The problem with earning deservedness is at some point in time when you’re exhausted, and making it wrong to participate in life’s harvest for the simple reason of just being you.
When we adopt the norm and allow the voices of the masses to reduce our beliefs, we begin to harden ourselves from receiving our heart’s desires. It seems there’s virtue in toughness… in sweeping it under the rug… in being a martyr and toughening up. The truth is when it comes to desire, I want my life to feel simple, effortless, meaningful, restful, and successful…
If you desire and REALLY want a rich, meaningful, love-loaded experience – the ‘life well lived’ so to speak – today is the day to receive and decide and know that you, yes you, are inherently worthy of all the goodness that God has to offer – long weekends, foot rubs, good food, compliments, good friends, abundant wealth, a job that THRILLS you. That’s all good, HOWEVER, without the heart belief of knowing your worth, your heart’s desires of what you want on this earth, and all they promise will never satisfy.
You deserve the best of the best of the best of the best… just for being you. Innocent, wonderful, forgiven, free, irresistible you. Yield to God’s directive… and you’ll find that He wants to know your desires, and fulfill them!
Hear more about this topic on Episode 142 - All About Relationships Podcast with Bob and Audrey.