The True Desire of Our Hearts

This post is by Jenn Kokal.

 It was the first warm morning of the year. I sat there on my chair, a book in one hand, a cup of hot coffee in the other. The open windows were blowing a fresh breeze through the room, rustling the long, sheer curtains, and creating a pleasant, spring scent. I should have been enjoying this calm, fragrant morning. But I wasn’t.

It was the day after my two coloring devotionals were finally published. Months of blood, sweat, and tears went into creating, writing, drawing, and formatting those books. I should have been happy that the endeavor was over. I should have been enjoying the first quiet morning I had for weeks. But when I finally had it, all I could think about was, “What can I do next?”

As I sat there in my chair, the book unread and the coffee growing cold, I stopped myself in my tracks. “What is my problem?” I asked myself. “Why am I never satisfied? Why am I always craving more?”

It’s human nature to want what we don’t have. We believe things will be better when we finally get what we desire. But when we actually get what we desire, it’s rarely good enough. We fool ourselves into believing, “It will be better if we just have _______.” Yet those things never really satisfy.

We are never satisfied because we crave something better than earthly things. We crave life. I’m not talking about earthly life. I’m talking about eternal life.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 tells us that God has set eternity in people’s hearts. This means that every single person created craves life, or eternity. The number one problem that keeps us from having eternal life is sin. Sin has caused us to believe we want something other than God, the only one who is able to give us eternal life. This sometimes takes on the form of earthly desires. Thus, these earthly desires often blind us from understanding what we are really, truly craving: eternal life with God. 

Because of sin, we can’t gain eternal life on our own.

The Hebrew word for sin is “hhatah.” Hhatah actually means to “miss the mark.” I like to think of missing the mark as disobedience to God. Since all of us were born into hhatah, we all disobey God, whether it be through thoughts, motives, or actions. Sometimes, we even unknowingly disobey God! Because of this, we have all missed the mark. We all “fall short.” (Romans 3:23) Since we fall short of the mark, we are unable to achieve salvation, because only those who are in complete, perfect obedience to God can achieve it.

This is why Jesus came to earth. He was the only person who was completely and perfectly obedient to God. He became the sacrifice for humanity. Since the “wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23) this means that death is the only way we can pay for our hhatah. So, Jesus paid the price for us. Since Jesus was in perfect obedience to God, He was the only one able to do this. He took all of our collected sins upon Himself and died in our stead. 

This is why we celebrate Easter Sunday. Because Jesus not only paid for our salvation and gave us eternal life, but He also conquered death by rising from the grave on the third day. After all, since God is the Giver of life, Jesus was showing His Life-giving power to humanity through His resurrection.

Jesus has given us exactly what we desire: the free gift of eternal life. But in order to take that free gift, we must do one thing: believe. We have to believe in Jesus and the sacrifice He made for us. We must also believe that Jesus is alive, because God is the Giver of life.

Next time you feel yourself craving something more than what you have, remember that because of Jesus, you already have everything you truly desire. You have life. You have hope. You have salvation.

You have Jesus.

Jenn Kokal is a creator of P40 Ministries, a ministry dedicated to helping others understand the simplicity, humanity, and wonder of God’s Word. Through many unique endeavors, she uses her writing, podcasting, and graphic design skills to further the gospel.

You can connect with Jenn at www.facebook.com/p40ministries

To learn more about the P40 Ministries Podcast, or the Alive! Adult and Children Coloring Devotionals, visit www.p40ministries.com.

Photo by Pisit Heng on Unsplash