How do I align my desires with God?

Table of Contents

What does it mean to align desires with God?

Aligning our desires with God means bringing our wants, dreams, goals, and motivations into harmony with God’s will and purposes for our lives. As humans, our natural desires often focus on worldly ideals like success, comfort, power, and pleasure. However, God calls us to seek after things that are eternal and spiritually meaningful. Aligning our desires involves transforming them to match up with godly virtues like faith, hope, love, joy, peace, righteousness, and service to others. It means desiring God above all else and pursuing a personal relationship with Him.

Why is it important to align desires with God?

There are several key reasons why aligning our desires with God is so crucial:

It helps us live out God’s plan for our lives rather than following our own flawed human wisdom.
It enables us to experience lasting joy and satisfaction rather than temporary pleasures.
It transforms us into the likeness of Christ and helps us bear good spiritual fruit.

It strengthens our relationship with God and deepens our intimacy with Him.
It allows us to use our gifts and abilities according to God’s purposes.
It protects us from the pitfalls of sinful, selfish desires.

In short, aligning our desires with God ensures that He remains first in our lives. This brings glory to Him and enables us to fulfill our highest calling of pursuing and sharing the gospel. As Jesus said, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33).

How can I discern God’s will for my life?

Discerning God’s desires for our lives begins with understanding His revealed will in Scripture. Here are some key ways to understand His will as revealed in the Bible:

Study biblical principles – God’s Word gives us guidance on how to live in a way that honors Him.

Understand God’s commands – The Bible contains clear directives from God that we are called to obey.
Look at biblical examples – We can learn from the lives of godly men and women in Scripture.
Know God’s promises – God gives us promises to encourage and guide us along the way.

Discover biblical purposes – We align with God’s will when we live out biblical purposes like serving others, glorifying God, and making disciples.

Beyond Scripture, discerning God’s personal will often involves:

Prayer – Seeking God earnestly in prayer is key to hearing His direction for our lives.

Wise counsel – Getting advice from spiritually mature Christians can help reveal blind spots.
Reading God’s providence – Seeing how God opens and closes doors in our circumstances can reveal His will.
Personal evaluation – Honestly assessing our gifts and abilities can show how God intends to use us.

As we get to know God’s Word and heart better, aligning our desires with His becomes more natural. But it requires persistence, humility, and reliance on the Holy Spirit working within us.

What areas of life require aligning desires with God?

Essentially, God calls us to bring every area of our lives under His Lordship – aligning our thoughts, words, actions, relationships, work, ministry, finances, goals, and all other dimensions with His purposes and glory. Some key spheres where this alignment is especially important include:

Career and vocation

Consider how your work and career can honor God and serve others rather than just pursuing prestige or money.

Be motivated by fulfilling God’s purposes over personal achievement or advancement.
View your job as an opportunity to share Christ’s love through your ethics and attitude.

Financial stewardship

Manage your finances based on biblical values like generosity, integrity, prudence, and trust in God’s provision.

Cultivate a spirit of openhandedness rather than clinging to wealth and possessions.
Aim to honor God first in how you earn, save, spend, invest, and donate money.

Ministry and service

Align your gifts, passions, and endeavors with fulfilling the Great Commission at home, work, church, and in your community.

Be motivated by love for God and others rather than striving for recognition.
Surrender your ministry plans to God’s direction and timing.

Relationships and family

Make decisions about dating, engagement, and marriage based on biblical principles.

Nurture Christ-centered relationships that spur spiritual growth.
In marriage and parenting, aim to reflect the self-sacrificial love of Christ.

Every decision and aspiration we have should be filtered through the lens of God’s Word and led by the Holy Spirit. As Romans 12:1-2 explains, we are called to offer even our bodies, ambitions, and future plans as living sacrifices to God.

How can I transform my desires to align with God step-by-step?

Here is a practical, step-by-step process for reshaping your dreams and longings around God’s truth and purposes:

Step 1: Dedicate your desires to God through prayer.

Bring your innermost longings and motivations to God. Ask Him to reveal where your desires may be misaligned from His perfect will (Psalm 139:23-24). Offer all your plans to Him with a willingness to surrender them to His purposes.

Step 2: Study Scripture to understand God’s will and ways.

Immerse yourself in God’s Word daily. Study biblical principles for life, God’s commands, the lives of faithful followers, and God’s promises and purposes. Ask the Holy Spirit to renew your mind and transform your desires.

Step 3: Take a personal inventory of your hopes and dreams.

On paper, make a list of your biggest goals, dreams, and motivations. Consider areas like career, family, lifestyle, hobbies, achievements, and possessions. Next to each, write how it lines up with or diverges from biblical values. Be brutally honest.

Step 4: Discard any desires that contradict God’s Word and will.

By God’s strength and grace, prayerfully release any desires focused solely on selfish gain, pride, comfort, or worldly success. Choose to fix your heart wholly on Christ and things above (Colossians 3:1-3).

Step 5: Reshape remaining desires around serving God and others.

Look at righteous desires you’ve identified that have value when properly oriented around God – like relationships, ministry endeavors, work, etc. Reshape your motivations around fulfilling God’s purposes and exalting Christ, not selfish ambition.

Step 6: Take practical steps to act on reshaped desires.

Change requires sustained action. If career plans need realigning, take steps to move in a new direction. If financial goals need adjusting, meet with a budget counselor. If relationship habits aren’t honoring God, seek counseling. Replace unwise actions with wise and righteous ones.

Step 7: Seek godly accountability and encouragement.

Share your realigned desires with mature believers who will support you, encourage you when discouraged, and lovingly keep you accountable. Make life adjustments together with other Christians seeking God’s best.

What are practical examples of aligning desires with God?

Here are some real life ways believers can reorient their longings around God’s truth and purposes:

Pursuing education not just for prestige or money but to serve others
Marrying someone primarily because they spur you spiritually rather than worldly traits like looks or wealth
Taking a job with less pay but more opportunities to minister Christ’s love

Downsizing your house and possessions to free up resources for kingdom purposes
Relinquishing selfish dreams like early retirement to serve God actively as long as you have strength
Surrendering desires for recognition to simply please Christ with your service

Sharing your faith boldly rather than hiding it for fear of rejection

In all things, our mindset and motivation should be bringing joy to Jesus and furthering His gospel purposes in this fallen world. As we do, He promises to supply all our needs and give us eternal rewards (Matthew 6:19-21, 33).

What are ways to stay aligned with God amid daily life?

Once we have realigned our general life direction and desires with God’s will, ongoing maintenance is needed to stay aligned with Him amid the pressures and pleasures of daily life. Here are some helpful strategies:

Daily Scripture reading and prayer – Nourish your soul on God’s Word and communicate with Him continually.
Weekly worship – Regularly gathering with other believers reinforces God’s centrality.
Christian community – Godly friendships provide counsel, accountability, and encouragement.

Spiritual journaling – Writing down lessons learned, sins confessed, prayers, and reflections cements God’s work in you.
Life rhythm of work and rest – Proper periods of work and renewal keep your focus on Christ and serving others.
Conscious examination – Frequently inspect your thoughts, motives, use of time and money to stay surrendered to God.

Financial stewardship – Use resources entrusted by God wisely and generously for His glory.

The Holy Spirit also convicts us when desires creep back toward sin and self. Maintaining constant communion with God and obedience to His Word fosters desires aligned with Him.

What if I still struggle with fleshly desires?

It’s natural to struggle with sinful desires like lust, greed, envy, pride, or addiction even after committing to follow Christ. Sanctification is a lifelong process. Here are some tips for dealing with stubborn sinful desires:

Bring them immediately to God in repentance and faith in His forgiveness and power.
Avoid temptation proactively by creating boundaries and seeking accountability.
Consume yourself with knowing Christ through Scripture reading, prayer, worship, fellowship, and service.

Ask God to increase holy desires for Him surpassing sinful urges.
If needed, seek professional Christian counseling or join a support group.
Remember your worth and identity in Christ – you’re forgiven and dearly loved as God’s child.

Don’t try to suppress sinful desires through self-effort but rely on the Spirit’s empowerment.

God permits struggles to humble us, push us to depend on Him, and conform us to Christ’s image. But we can have confidence He will complete His redeeming work in us (Philippians 1:6).

Conclusion

Aligning our innermost desires to God’s will is essential for living out our purpose and experiencing lasting joy. Thankfully, Scripture gives us clear guidance on God’s purposes for our lives. By dedicating our dreams to God in prayer, studying His Word, taking a personal inventory, releasing worldly ambitions, practically living out biblical values, and utilizing other spiritual disciplines, we can recalibrate our motivations around fulfilling His callings for our lives rather than our self-centered desires. This honors Christ, bears good spiritual fruit, and positions us to taste the eternal satisfaction found in wholeheartedly pursuing Him above all else.