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God knows how strong and driving your need is—He designed it that way. You can be confident that by turning and drawing near to God He can and will meet that need! Repentance can help you experience what God offers freely.

Materialism and Money are

Evidence of Our Never

Ending Desire For God's

Presence!

One of the most important practical steps in actually directing your heart toward God is to learn to recognize the evidence of your desire for God—in everyday life. Materialism is one of the many examples. 

We call them possessions. But is it really just the clothes, the car, the house, the toys? Something more is involved.

I like toys. I especially like my mountain bike. It was a nice bike when I got it, but the newness has worn off. I still ride it, but it isn’t shiny anymore. It’s dented and the paint is worn off in several places. In my mind, I can easily justify a new bike. The frame is old enough now that some replacement parts are incompatible.

But what about my heart? Why do I want a new bike? Why do you or I want anything new? Why do we want the best? Can you see our longing for more of God in this? 

God is always new. He is never boring. God doesn’t get old. His glory is always "shiny."

Getting and Having

The thrill and joy of "possessions" can be broken down into two parts: getting and having. Part of the fun is in acquiring. We also enjoy ownership. Whatever it is that we long for, we want to get it and call it ours.

We could call it an "energy toward ownership." But if it isn’t God that we are possessing, the Bible calls it "coveting."

In one sense, the longing to possess is very selfish. Some people steal and hurt others to try and satisfy their desire. Coveting is sin when it is directed toward earthly things or other people.

But in another sense, your desire to both "get" and to "have" is a powerful tool for spiritual growth. It is by God’s purposeful design that we have the desire to acquire and possess. These are desires that never leave us.

But rather than allow earthly things or other people to be our god, God wants to be our God. You just need to harness your desires by turning your heart toward God and then learning to allow your longings to "get" and to "have," to run wild. Fill your longings with God.

Repentance is a process of learning that you don’t have to hold back when you turn to God! You can trust that God will keep giving you enough of His Holy Spirit for you to continually thrill yourself with getting and having His presence.

It will likely sound strange at first, but I think we need to learn to enjoy possessing God. By this I mean we need to learn to "have" Him in a way that satisfies our covetous cravings. I think that doing so, in part, is what it means to call Him our God.

Think about the countless hours and energy you spend on wanting. Sometimes the desire to possess can be so strong that it hurts inside. How would your life be different if you learned to harness your "energy to own" and direct it toward acquiring and enjoying the presence of God?

Instead of possessing "other gods," it is right that we possess the spiritual kingdom of God.

This verse is my favorite in all the Bible: "Let your collection of idols deliver you...But he who takes refuge in Me...will possess My holy mountain" (Isa. 57:13). You don’t have to love earthly possessions because you can possess the mountain where God lives! Take "refuge in Him" by possessing the mountain of God.

Two verses later Isaiah wrote, "For thus says the high and exalted One Who lives forever, whose name is Holy, ‘I dwell on a high and holy place, and also with the contrite and lowly of spirit In order to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite’" (Isa. 57:15). God dwells on a high and holy mountain, yet He also dwells with those who make His presence their refuge. He can do that because we can possess the heavenly dwelling place of God.

Unlike acquiring possessions, don’t think that you have to earn what you receive from God. If you had to deserve what you receive it wouldn’t be called grace. Humble yourself into trusting His grace.

Think about relationships with people.

Isn’t part of why we want new friends that we want to call them "ours." It is an ugly thing about us that anyone would ever want to "possess" another person.

The longing to "possess" another person is the cause of many forms of abuse. In contrast, when God is your God, you have Him with you. In a very real sense, you possess Him! Possessing God is a wonderful thing, and the more of Him we "possess," the better.

It is right to possess the kingdom of God: "But the saints of the Highest One will receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, for all ages to come." (Dan..7:18). Just as it is right to thrill ourselves with God’s kingdom as our possession, it is right to enjoy possessing the Holy Spirit: "For the kingdom of God is...righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Rom. 14:17).

Being possessive with earthly things and relationships can be a damaging thing to ourselves and other people. It is sinful that we cling so tightly to earthly sources. You can cling to God in a way that meets your need much better! The Bible says, "For as the waistband clings to the waist of a man, so I made the whole household of Israel and...of Judah cling to Me,’ declares the Lord, ‘that they might be for Me a people, for renown, for praise and for glory; but they did not listen" (Jer. 13:11). It doesn’t have to be that way with you. Repentance is a process of getting your heart to listen and cling to God. Let your heart enjoy Him! 

It is right to constantly be getting and having the presence of God. With God, you can let your desires run free! It is good to depend on God in this way. Doing so, deals a death blow to idolatry of the heart and gives you the right to drink from God!

Satisfy your every craving with God. Fight against disbelief. You can have enough of the Holy Spirit of God to quench your covetous cravings. You can possess the holy mountain where God lives! You only need to set your thirsty passions free and direct them toward God.

Even though there is a sinful side to coveting, the underlying desire to "get and to have" is so universal that I think we have it by God’s purposeful design. Ownership is something all people long for. Want and desire, just like getting and having, are a central characteristics of our thirsty desire. Is it a mistake that God designed us this way? It is not. He wants to be what fills our desires. 

First, lets think about money. You earn it. You put it in our pocket. If you have what you consider a lot of money with you, it is easy to trust the money to make you feel secure and significant. Think back for a moment. In a quiet-subtle way, maybe there were times when you were talking to someone and some of the confidence you felt in your conversation may have come from the money you had in your pocket. Dependence on money in this way is sin.

The Bible says, "Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, ‘I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,’ so that we confidently say, ‘The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid..." (Heb. 13:5,6). Being free from the love of money is all about finding reassurance from enjoying the closeness of God. We can be free from the love of money because we can have God.

If God is to be your God, He has to be closer to you than the money in your pocket. Otherwise, for practical reasons, you won’t experience the thirst quenching element of His security and strength. On a practical level, if you don’t let God come that close to you, you will always feel like you need something more to soothe and reassure you. Your confidence and security then your affections will always be divided. God wants to be your God. You have to help yourself learn to stop hiding, open up, and let God draw near.

In an earthly sense, you cannot glory in something unless you call it yours. The same is true with God. Let yourself enjoy His presence being close to you. When you do, you will find thrill and pleasure in your relationship with God.

Materialism Doesn't Satisfy!

Materialism feeds our desire just enough to keep us wanting more. The satisfaction we feel from materialism is only a fleeting illusion.  

Our never-ending desire to "get and to have" is evidence of our thirst to constantly be receiving a flow of God’s presence. God designed us this way because of His intention to give us His Holy Spirit in generous portion—enough for a river of the Holy Spirit to flow through us (John 7:37-39)!

Materialism doesn't work! Have you ever wanted something that you most likely will never be able to get? That can hurt.

Anytime you notice your desire for things and money, recognize it as evidence of a deeper desire for God. Use what you observe as a springboard to rejoice in the grace of God to draw closer to you than money in your pocket!  

It is because of the abundant grace of God that you don't have to live in bondage to filling your desire for Him with material things! Direct your heart to trust His grace.  

I want to challenge you to arouse all the coveting you can muster and direct it toward God alone. Rather than trying to shut down your longing for more, direct your desire toward God and set it free. 

Delight yourself with God. Find freedom to turn to God by thrilling your heart about being able to receive and have God's presence because of His grace.

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Barry.

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(C) Barry Hall 1999

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