No. Not now... I was doing so good with just being cool, calm, and content.

This is something along the lines of what I say to myself when a desire starts to arise in my thoughts.

In one short season I feel like I am doing SO good. I'm thankful, living in the moment that God has placed me in and then BAM I start thinking about something that I desire to do.

And in this Encouragement, I'm not talking about bad desires, but the good ones. The ones that are sneaky and filled with longing.

Have you ever had a desire to do something for God or something that can further His Kingdom that enters your thoughts and almost consumes all your interactions and your left wondering "what do I do with this?"

Just the other day, it started to really sink in that I am not going back to Kenya this year... I won't be able to see my friends, students, and fellow believers this year to spend time with them and love on them, and them on me.

So in that moment, I told the Lord my honest desire.

"Lord, whenever you see fit, I want to go back to Kenya, and I want it to be for a good amount of time."

When I prayed that prayer, my desire didn't slide into a basket that only opens and reappears when the prayer is going to be answered. The desire still hung around and is currently there even now as I write this.

I think one thing that we do so easily, is get mad at ourselves whenever we have a desire that doesn't quite match the possibilities right now.

We immediately put it into the "discontentment" category and label our thoughts as if they are coming from a place of not trusting God with the blessings He has given us now.

And sometimes, that can be true. But I do know that God calls desires to spring up inside of us, especially ones that seem unachievable and far-off.

In Psalm 25 there are 4 treasures I want to uncover about our good desires and how God gives us desires so that:

We will call out to Him
We will become more intimate with Him
We will experience humility
He can be the answer to them

Calling out to Him should always be our first response. He wants us to communicate with Him throughout all avenues of our lives. That may seem a little cliche' but it is a healthy reminder to know that God has assembled pieces of our lives so that we have to open the door to communication with Him. In verse 4 we have David's words as an example for us; "Lord, direct me throughout my journey so I can experience your plans for my life. Reveal the life-paths that are pleasing to you." In times of desperation and yearning of thought, speaking to God is always the best bet for us. It is easy to dismiss desires that we have, but declaring them to God is something that we should do instead. When we reach out with words, He opens the door for us to come in closer.

Becoming more intimate with Jesus is our walk through the door of initial communication. It's amazing that God plants desires in our life where, once we open the door to conversation we are invited deeper. This is the place where we seek to know Him so that when His response does come, we know the tone and the expressions of the One who speaks. It's that place of actually knowing someone and being familiar with them versus only knowing a thing or two about them. Walking into intimacy is where we cross the line of only knowing what Jesus might say over our situation, to what He is saying in our situation. In verse 5, David reaches into intimacy with these words; "Escort me along the way; take me by the hand and teach me. For you are the God of my increasing salvation; I have wrapped my heart into Yours!" David does more than just take notice of God's heart, but He clings to it and ties Himself together with Jesus. Like sexual intercourse ties one man to one woman, so our hearts should be beautifully knit together with God's. As we get to know God, His power is revealed to us in that intimacy and the fear of God comes upon our lives.

Humility should be our response as we see within the closeness that He really is the Man who is sitting on the throne and also the lover of our souls. That the God who allows us to come close is the same God who spoke the seas and all that is within them into existence. He after all, is the only One who could answer the desires in my being. He is the One who is of all authority and deserves to be honored (given the highest rank in our mind). When we humble ourselves before His greatness, we begin to walk in a deeper trust that goes with us through the months/years of waiting, through all the relationships that exist and then don't exist, through all the misunderstandings of life that pop-up. David says this in verse 9, "Keep showing the humble Your path, and lead them into the best decision. Bring revelation-light that trains them in the truth." God's desire is to continuously walk with those that are humble. Living in humility allows God to lead us. When we don't seek His power and authority to create, we fall on our own power and ability to create... And just to let you in on something, we have no power and no ability to create outside of Him. All our actions will be piled up to nothing. But when we allow His leadership to be our guide, He will show us the best decisions to make. Those decisions are ones, of trusting again when a plan just failed or loving despite the words of unbelief that come from those surrounding us. His leadership also gives us revelation on the truth that we need to walk out life and the training that we need to overcome doubt.

He is the answer. In our walking and on our journey, He is the one who answers. Maybe in the beginning, we knew this. But it is through the process, through the flipping of Bible pages, through the intentional conversation with the Holy Spirit, where we really begin to know that He is the One. In verse 14, we find what is waiting for those who truly love God; "There's a private place reserved for the lovers of God, where they sit near Him and receive the revelation-secrets of His promises." That private place where God reveals is not just a public restroom that so happens to be everywhere you have to pee. This private place is reserved. That means that not everyone gets to just walk right in. It is a privilege to sit near Him and receive... especially receive secrets. In this place of seeking, as we have walked in trust, He reveals His heart to those who have sought to stay close. He is looking to reveal His secrets to those who withstand the tests of life. I would like to think that our desires can begin as invitations into this reserved place, that through our desires, we are pressed to find Him. And this is what He has waiting for us.

The desires that He gives us are to press us forward to journey on into the place reserved. That we wouldn't live idle but that we would be overflowing with desires that only He can answer. He places things inside of us that we can not accomplish on our own, but only within communicating with Him, drawing close to Him, humbling ourselves before Him, and knowing that He is the only one who can answer our longings.