Desiring Less?

Contentment - should we desire less?

As i was making my journey down to work one day, i decided to give my songs on my ipod a rest and to take that time to feed my soul. I played an audio sermon by Dr Larry Crabb entitled 'Do Not Let Your Heart Be Troubled'.

In John 14:1, Jesus says, "Do not let your heart be troubled. Trust in God, trust also in me." This if spoken by anyone else would have sounded silly and really simplistic. But not so if Jesus says it. In the previous 2 chapters (i.e. Chpt 12 & 13) Jesus has just told his disciples to relate to each other in a way that it exposes them to painful rejection (want you to wash people's feet, humbly serve others, give up all efforts to impress, abandon all strategies to protect your own soul). Take a HUGE RISK in how you relate. He also revealed that one of them (his disciples) would betray him and that even the leader of the group would fail badly (Peter denying Him three times)

Yet, He says after that in John 14:1, "Do not let your heart be troubled." What does He mean?

Is He saying, "Stop wanting so much, deadened your desires and be content." That is what Buddhism says.

To be content you need to want less. end your desires and you will be content. Decrease your desires and you will find perfect peace. Stop wanting.

But is this what He says? How can He say this if our desire is built into the fabric of our life by our Creator.

"Do not let your heart be troubled. TRUST IN GOD, TRUST ALSO IN ME."
Jesus doesnt ask us to kill our desires, He asks us to deepen our desire in HIM. Deepen and you will find Joy amidst suffering. It is our deepest desire that allow us to realise that the rest are nothing.

He shares 3 points:

1) Hope of Heaven gives us the courage to look deeply into our heart when life is hard and to discover our deepest desire.

2) Path to discover our deepest desire REQUIRES that we feel our lesser desire (both pleasure and pain)

3) Only when we discover deepest desire in Christ, satisfaction in CHrist will we be able to richly love one another.

after listening to this sermon, I was encouraged that God doesnt ask us to kill our desires, to be a dead soul which doesnt expect anything. But He asks us to desire Him more so that we can find Joy in the midst of our suffering and our pain.