7. Many of my spiritual disciplines are intended to train my body to follow the desires of my heart.

(Before looking at the questions below, take a few minutes to think about this statement. Invite Jesus to speak to you about what He would like you to notice.) 

DESIRES CAN FALL ANYWHERE ON A CONTINUUM FROM TERRIBLY BAD TO IMPOSSIBLY GOOD. REFLECT ON WHAT YOU MOST DESIRE. WHERE DO YOU THINK YOUR DESIRES FALL ON THE CONTINUUM?

HOW MANY OF YOUR DESIRES ARE YET TO BE FULFILLED? WHAT ACTIONS ARE YOU TAKING TO BRING THEM ABOUT?

WHAT ROLE DOES JESUS PLAY IN YOUR DESIRES?

Philippians 2:13 says, “for it is God who works in you to will [desire] and to act [by means of discipline] in order to fulfill his good purpose.” Our hearts are the place where desires are formed but our bodies are needed to fulfill, or act out, these desires. Paul recognized this dynamic and reflects it in this verse. Jesus’ desire that He invites us into is goodness, abundance, and fulness of life.

It is one thing for us to desire this goodness; it can be another thing for us to act in ways that bring about this goodness. We may have unhealthy habits that we need to let go of but there will also be new habits that we need to take on in order to experience what our heart desires. We may need to let go of things like anger, greed, pride, envy, lust, and so on but we will also need to take on things like patience, humility, generosity, love, and temperance.

Our desires are actually quite weak in their ability to bring about change in our lives. Think about things you wish were different in your life, things that you have wanted to change for some time but have been unable to. Just wanting something doesn’t make it happen. Change requires action or activity that trains our bodies to follow the desires of our heart. These actions or activities often include spiritual disciplines.

Spiritual disciplines are simply activities that we engage in to bring about a change in our life that begins with a desire for greater abundance.