Pretend you own a beautiful box. It’s all yours and no one is allowed to dip into it except you. It’s very private because you place beautiful things inside that only you can know. Nothing can be placed inside by anyone else. Only you deposit. So, this box is incredibly special.
Inside, the things are worth protecting and you do just that. You see, if what you place inside is all of your own doing and the things you have in there have value, of course you’ll want to protect them. Not with insurance or a guard dog, but you yourself protect it innately.
Let’s call your box “The Desire Box.” All the things you desire go straight into it–not one thing you desire sits outside the box. And there is no comparison to its size. Your box could be very small and simple. But someone else’s may be as large as an American state or even larger because everyone is different.
Remember, though, desire is not a want or a need. Confusion will ensue if you jumble them up. Desires are things you will pursue with a penchant. For this reason your ‘wants’ quite possibly are not. The two can seem very alike but upon careful examination, desires have deeper roots. You can want a horse or a dog or a car but to really desire those things, you would make work of having them. It becomes the fiber of you.
Then there are needs. Not much can be said there. Needs are just needs. Of course needs certainly need to be kept in check (as the line between wants and needs is close), but if you don’t get a need, you could die or suffer serious harm or wither away.
Now, in your Desire Box, take a look at what you have in there. What is it that you really desire? What is the you within yourself that you pursue day after day and focus on?
Some may say they desire God or Jesus, but in order to give honor to that desire, the desire in and of itself changes the person. Desiring makes one’s world smaller in some ways because it focuses on the desire so laser-like that if the desire is taken away, the person would miss it—like an unknowing of what to do.
In Psalm 42:1 David said,
As a deer pants for water, so my soul pants for you.
David compares his desire to a deer panting for fresh water to quench his thirst. The deer wanted water, yes. Of course he did, beacause water was a need, in a physical sense. It’s almost as if the life of the deer depended on his finding water. He just had to have it. Likewise, David compares his soul panting for God. He had to find God and quench his desire for Him—it was his focus and goal. Notice: Desire.
Your Desire Box pushes you to seek and pursue and focus at all costs. Outside influences will not crowd your box trying to distract you. They aren’t allowed in there…remember, this is YOUR box and only you deposit into it. You won’t suffer distractions if your desire is driving you.
Keeping your box well protected is paramount. If you are a God follower, line your box with scripture. Let it be filled to the brim with godly influences—so much so that the lid has a hard time fitting on top.
And check the contents of your box carefully all the time. Be sure your desires are wrapped carefully with prayer and protected—they are fragile and worth the extra effort to keep them safe.
As you open your precious Desire Box, may you say,
“As I [insert your name] pant for water, my soul, O Lord, pants for you.”
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