Articles
What Would You Wish For?
What if God came to you one day and told you that He would fulfill any two wishes that you had. He would unconditionally, completely satisfy whatever two things you desire. What would you wish for?
If it were me receiving the gracious gifts, I would foremost ask for something spiritual. I might ask for something like Moses did, and request that I see God’s glory. Quite possibly I might ask for something like, “Lord, may I have great humility in every decision I make.” Then, for my second request, I would ask for something in the neighborhood of $100,000.
Now initially, I must admit, the plea might seem a little selfish, but think of all the good things you could do with that money. I could give a lot more on Sundays. I could send some to the brethren that we support overseas. I could help Christians with their financial issues. Of course, I would keep some for my personal use, but there could be many good things done with that money.
Listen to the words of a little-known man named Agur:
“Two things I asked of You, do not refuse me before I die: keep deception and lies far from me, give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is my portion, that I not be full and deny You and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ or that I not be in want and steal, and profane the name of God.” (Proverbs 30:7-9)
My personal two desires that I listed above were all about me. Even the spiritual request, which certainly would help me in my walk with Christ, stated “Give me.”
Notice where the focus of Agur’s requests are. Each of his pleas is centered on God. Even though one of his petitions states “Give me,” he ultimately stated “May I be content with sufficiency”. In fact, in his other request, he asked God to take away things from him. His underlying desires were to not sin, and to remain satisfied with his blessings from God.
Is that what we want? Are all our desires centered on a better relationship with our creator? I think sometimes we take for granted the fact that we can have a relationship with Him. As we go throughout the week and even for the rest of our lives, let our actions and decisions show that our sole desire is to be pleasing to Him.
