Everyone has different needs in life. It is natural and normal to have desires for what we need, and there is nothing wrong with it. However, the more desires a person has, the more time one spends on them. If those desires lead us closer to God, the time spent on them is valuable. But if those desires lead us away from God, they are  wasting our lives, and even more sadly, they distract us from focusing on things that lead us closer to God! As Jesus says in Matthew 6:21, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Therefore, if our deepest desire is to approach and draw closer to God, we must learn to discern which desires are beneficial to us and which are not.

Learning to differentiate and prioritize our desires according to their relative importance can be a shortcut on our journey to holiness!

Therefore, we do not need to renounce all desires in our lives.  Instead, we need to learn to discern which desires are good and which are bad or evil, in order to protect ourselves from being led away from our God, who loves us most dearly, by the enemy without realizing it.

As mentioned in yesterday’s reflection, the most important and highest level of thirst in life is our thirst for God, which is also God’s thirst for us. When this thirst is being addressed and satisfied, everything in life will fall into place. Even if the external environment and our lives are chaotic, we are more likely to have inner peace and a sense of inner order. This peace and order that the world cannot provide can help us remain hopeful in adversity, stay awake, recognize and fully understand the meaning of our lives, and move clearly towards the direction of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Otherwise, without this “thirst for God” to guide our other desires, our lives will not be disciplined, and our conflicting desires will cause our lives to lose balance and focus. As a result, we will not be able to stay awake or have clear goals, and thus will lose our direction.

In this case, we will be less capable of controlling our endless desires, causing our lives to become even more chaotic and disordered. This vicious cycle will continue until we can reprioritize the thirsts in our lives.

Facing the various needs in life, we need to make sacrifices. It is not easy to let go of some seemingly practical desires in life. Let us remember the words of Jesus in Matthew 6:33, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

Indeed, because our Heavenly Father knows best what we need, if we surrender, trust and depend on God wholeheartedly, He will not let our other important needs  go unsatisfied.

This is a time for us to stir up our faith and put it into action. In our prayers, let us ask the Lord to strengthen our faith so that we can reach out to help our brothers and sisters who lack faith in God.

Today’s Prayer

Lord Jesus Christ, thank You for setting the best example for us, putting God the Father first in Your life, and believing that the Father will provide everything You need. No matter how difficult the challenges and persecutions You faced, You fearlessly moved forward. Please teach me to thirst for our Heavenly Father like You do, and to make fulfilling the Father’s will the only goal in my life.

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