Day 08

“What Do You Want?”

“And do you seek great things for yourself?” (Jeremiah 45:5 NKJV)

ARE YOU SEEKING great things for yourself? Instead of seeking to be a great person, Jesus wants you to be in a much closer relationship with Himself than simply receiving His gifts—He wants you to get to know Him. Those special things we want are insignificant to Jesus, special things come and go, but Jesus never gives us anything insignificant or unimportant. There is nothing easier than getting into the right relationship with Jesus unless it is not Jesus we seek, but only what He can give us. If we have only come as far as asking Him for things, we have never arrived at the point of understanding the least bit of what surrender really means. We now have become supposed followers of Christ based on our own terms. We often complain, saying, “I asked God for the Holy Spirit, but He didn’t give me the rest and the peace I expected.” And instantly Jesus puts His finger on the reason—we’re not seeking Him at all, we’re seeking something for ourselves. Jesus said, “Ask, and it will be given to you” (Matt. 7:7 NKJV). Ask Him for what you want and do not be concerned about asking for the wrong thing, because as we draw ever closer to Him, we will cease asking for things altogether.“Your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him” (Matt. 6:8 NKJV). Then why should we ask? So that we may get to know Him. Are we seeking great things for ourselves? Have we said, “Oh, Lord, completely fill me with Your Holy Spirit?”If Jesus does not, it is because we are not totally surrendered to Him, there is something we still refuse to do. Are we truly prepared to ask ourselves what it is we want from Him and why we want it? Jesus always ignores our present level of completeness in favor of our ultimate future completeness. He is not concerned about making us blessed and happy right now, but He’s continually working out His ultimate perfection for us—“that they may be one just as We are one” (John 17:22 NKJV).