Worldly desires lead to the world's end, as well as yours

It is so sad, to see those who had been on fire for the Lord turn to the world and lose the will to sanctify themselves in Him. It is frustrating to see those people who I had looked up to spiritually engage themselves in such worldly behavior. I'm not trying to be judgmental or hypocritical, I too turned from the Lord for a time. Not in blatant turn that denied Him and His work, rather for a time I was one of those "Christians" who professed the name of Jesus and lived in my desires. (Which in truth is no different than flat out denying Him)

I give praise to God that He has delivered me from that, He has broken my heart over my sins to bring me into repentance. And though I'm in a very rough period, that seems to get harder the closer I pull to Him and His love, it is a very exciting time. I may not have much here, I may be poor in the world's eyes, but daily I add to a treasure that I will receive in the end. When the time comes I'll be able to stand dressed in white before my Lord's throne and worship Him for eternity. And I cannot imagine how I ever thought there could be anything on this planet better than that. I don't know how I convinced myself that anything in this life time could be more important than living each moment for Him.

Yes, there are times I get frustrated because now that I have actively chosen to follow Him I cannot do what I want to. But I hope with time as I follow His will I shall stop desiring my flesh. And if I never fully get rid of those desires I joyfully deny myself, because ultimately I want His will for my life.

He has saved me from my sins, ransomed me from death, redeemed me, the very least I can do is follow Him; turn from the things He died because of. The least I can do is spend eternity loving and worshiping Christ. And yet, that is the most I can do as well. All I can do is my best to be a light, and reach those I can, without succumbing to the world's pressures and desires. Because that in itself is an act of worship. Worship is not just singing songs on Sunday or at your youth group, worship is everything (or should be at any rate), my life should be a continual act of worship. I can worship God while I do the dishes, change the diapers, and drive down the street. Everything I can do should be in His will, and bring glory to His name.

Some would argue that the Bible says that we can have the things of this world because God gives us the desires of our heart. The problem with the people who say that is that I think they have either just heard this misrepresentation of scripture from others and swallowed it as truth without searching the Word, or they have knowingly taken the Word and ignored parts of it to justify their sins. Christ tells us to deny ourselves and bear our cross. In Psalm 37 it does indeed say that God will give us our desires, but in context it says that He will give you those desires if they are in line with His will, so ultimately He gives you His desires.

Psalm 37:1-10
1Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.

2For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.

3Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.

4Delight thyself also in the LORD: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

5Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.

6And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.

7Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.

8Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.

9For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.

10For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.