Malachi 1:6-8 – “Who can stand before His indignation? And who can endure the fierceness of His anger? His fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by Him. 7 The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and He knows those who trust in Him. 8 But with an overflowing flood He will make an utter end of its place, and darkness will pursue His enemies.”
As I read, prayed, and pondered the Word of God today, a thought filled my heart and mind. That thought: “The Want To.” Malachi spoke about seeking to honor God by giving flawed sacrifices. They wondered why they were not hearing from God. He said, “You are giving Him your scraps and expecting His favor. How dare you!”
How do we transform our want-to into positive action? Allowing the want to, to flow to its negative conclusion is easy. If you do not address it, it will flow to the lowest point and become a reality. Hate is murder in seed form. Lust is adultery or immorality in seed form.
But how do you move in the other direction? The Beatitudes give insight. Being poor in spirit means being empty of self and selfishness. Genuine remorse over sin leads to repentance, and repentance means doing an about-face. Through the Holy Spirit, you resist negative desires and focus on the positive. It requires discipline.
Willpower will never prevail over the flesh. Prevailing over the flesh requires total surrender to God. It requires total honesty to self, others, and God. If we deny the problem or need, or diminish it, we empower the problem. We have no victory over the flesh until we surrender completely.
In the Beatitudes, we empty ourselves of self; we become sorrowful of our sin and condition; we place our pride on the altar; we stir up our hunger for God; we seek mercy for ourselves and extend mercy to others; we shun the very appearance of evil (let that soak in); we resist retaliation and reaction and seek peace. Then, when trials come, we discover the strength to stand.
Remember, willpower cannot produce victory. It can only point us to our true source of help, God. What level of influence does our ‘want to’ have in our lives? Does the desire for righteousness exceed our willingness to yield to the flesh? Our actions speak louder than our words. We must stop denying it if we want total victory. The denier will be denied, but the truly repentant will find victory!
Check your want to!
