Desire- (n) a strong feeling of wanting to have something.
Synonyms: want, yearning, longing, craving, hunger, determination, enthusiasm
Do you crave an intimate relationship with the Lord, but aren’t sure how to get there?
There are things we must apply to our lives in order to grow in our desire for Jesus. I am going to share with you one of my favorite stories in the bible and also some steps on how to grow in your walk with Christ. I believe that as you apply these to your life they will no longer be part of a list to check off every day, but will become a natural part of your life and who you are.
Luke 7:36-38 NLT
36″One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to have dinner with him, so Jesus went to his home and sat down to eat. 37 When a certain immoral woman from that city heard he was eating there, she brought a beautiful alabaster jar filled with expensive perfume.38 Then she knelt behind him at his feet, weeping. Her tears fell on his feet, and she wiped them off with her hair. Then she kept kissing his feet and putting perfume on them.”
1. Seek Him out (V. 37- When a certain immoral woman heard he was eating there…)
First, we see that this woman sought out Jesus. She just heard the word where He would be and without hesitation went to where he was. As a believer, you should be seeking out ways to bring His presence into your life. Pray, read the bible, watch sermons, read books, go to church ( a true spirit-filled church), and make godly friends. Most importantly PRAY AND READ THE BIBLE because alone time with the Lord is where you’ll really grow in love with him, get to know him, and have personal encounters with him.
2. Bring Him a sacrifice. (V. 37- She brought him a beautiful alabaster jar filled with expensive perfume.)
We learn in one the other Gospels where this story is mentioned that the woman’s perfume was a year’s worth of wages.
Sacrifice- A loss or something you give up, usually for the sake of a better cause.
The sacrifice Jesus wants you to bring is yourself. When you offer yourself to Jesus, you are presenting yourself as an act of worship. You lay down your life and your own desires to Him. You are showing that this world doesn’t drive you anymore but He does. You are showing that you’d trade it all just to have Him. When you give every part of your life to Jesus, He will do more with it than what you could ever do on your own. What you wanted for your life and who you were before Christ will never line up with Gods will. Therefore, you must not hold tightly to those things you once thought you wanted or the person you once were but lay it all down in order to receive all that you are in Him.
3. Let the spirit move you and worship Him. (V. 38- Then she knelt behind him at his feet, weeping. her tears fell on his feet, and she wiped them off with her hair. Then she kept kissing his feet and putting perfume on them.)
Your own intellect the worst thing you can bring in your relationship with God because it won’t allow the spirit to move in you. God is spirit so we must worship Him in spirit, which is something our mind won’t really be able to comprehend. The reason why this woman was able to fall at his feet is that she allowed the spirit to move her and she saw Jesus through her spiritual eyes. Unlike the Pharisees who saw Him merely through their flesh. Another important thing to note is that the text describes the woman as being immoral but she still worshipped Jesus. Most of the time the enemy tries to steal your worship and the worship God deserves by reminding you of your faults. He makes you think that we are unworthy of worshipping Jesus because of what you did in the past or a mistake you made after you gave your life to Christ. He tries to take the very thing that will draw you closer to Jesus and will help you not to give into sin as easily in the future. The one thing that the enemy won’t tell you is that you are worthy and that you worship God not for how worthy you may feel, but how worthy He always is!
I pray this has blessed you and gives you the desire to decide today to grow more in love with Jesus!
