Desires and purposes

For it is God who is working in you, enabling you both to desire and to work out His good purpose. Philippians 2:13 HCSB http://bible.com/72/php.2.13.HCSB

We all have desires. We all have cravings. But the question often times is where are these desires and craving coming from. When you think about it, they often time come from one of two places: Internally, from within yourself or Externally, from someone else or circumstances in life. The Internal aspect of desires or cravings are generally a need to fill a void within your life or a need to achieve for your own satisfaction and fulfillment. And externally, it is often time a need to overcome or to show someone that you can perform. This is such a primal aspect of life when you think about it. It is in all of us and in a sense you can see it within the animals too.

However, as I was thinking through this passage, I realized that as Christians we have been given the Holy Spirit and that now there is this new factor in who or what dictate our desires and cravings and purpose. God is now a part of the equation. And the thing is, often times in life we still play by the two original factors before God came into our life. But God is here now and God is speaking. He is nudging us and giving us new desires. And when we follow through with these God-given desires we work for God's purposes and not our own or someone else anymore.

Lately, I have been noticing a lot of what I would call 'gut feelings' in life. And often times, I would ignore them and move on with my regular routine. However, in the past couple months, I have noticed that often times these feels were more prompting of God's Spirit, giving me a particular desire in order to do something or be prepared for something up ahead. And I realize this because in all those times I have not ignored these 'feelings' sometime miraculous and illogical would happen that can only be explained as God is at work. However, for those times, which are many, that I had ignored the feelings, I have found that I was in a more difficult situation or in a situation I was ill prepared for or I just missed out on an opportunity.

I guess the take away for this is this, God is working within us, He is prompting us with desires and cravings and when we follow through with this God given senses, we do God's will and fulfill His purpose.