So many times during the holiday season, we find ourselves asking or being asked, what do you want for Christmas? But the bigger question we need to be asking ourselves is, what is it that we really desire, out of life, out of our relationships? Which of those desires -even the healthy ones- are starting to rule us and ruin our relationships? As Paul David Tripp writes in his book, Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands, there is always a battle going on within us: “the battle between our desire for anything in the creation and our desire for God.”
When our desires get out of order, discontent and even destruction follows. Instead we can submit our desires to God with open hands, as Christ did when He said, “Not my will but yours be done.”
From Instruments in the Redemeemer’s Hands:
Desire turns into Demand (I must)
Demand turns into I need ( I will)
Need turns into expectation (You should)
Expectation leads to disappointment (You didn’t!)
Disappointment leads to punishment (Because you didn’t, I will)
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