Knowing what you want

What do you really want out of life?

It's an interesting question.

I'd be interested in your response.

Some say:

"I want to be happy"
"I want to have a great job with wonderful benefits"
"I want to be married"
"I want to get my masters"
"I want to have children"

Ben Stein said, "The first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: Decide what you want." This sounds obvious, but the fact is that a lot of people can't articulate what they want, beyond the vague desire to "be happy."

When we invest time thinking about what we really want, we learn some things.

First, we learn that we don't really want what we think we want -- not enough to do something about it. We don't want to be healthy enough to give up unhealthy food; we don't want a good family life enough to give up golf; we don't want to change the world enough to sacrifice a little money.

We also learn that many of our wants are in conflict with one another.

We want financial peace but we also want to spend according to our whims; we want to be leaders but we also want to be ever popular; we want to be spiritual but we also want to hold on to our favorite sins.

David wrote, "Take delight in the Lord and he will give you your heart's desires." (Psalm 37:4)

Here's what I know:

Putting God first empowers us to prioritize our wants -- to eliminate the ones that don't belong on the list, to focus on the things that truly matter.

What do you want, really want? Is it enough to do something about it, enough to do without something else? Is it in line with the desires of God's heart? Do you know what it is?

I encourage all of us to spend some time evaluating ourselves, identifying what really are the desires of our hearts. Then bring them to God. Lay them at his feet; and then press on knowing that we are in His will.