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            As we have already stated in a previous chapter, the Hebrew word "shalom" which means:  PEACE, also means: COMPLETENESS. We have not come into the fulness of peace as long as we yet know the restlessness of desire, for true peace speaks of a SATISFIED DESIRE. As long as there is one part lacking, there will be a reaching out, searching, grasping, seeking to find that which will be total satisfaction, For those who know the Lord, have received from Him into their lives, there is a measure of peace, for HE is our peace, but until He has brought us into His fulness, it is not complete.
            The prophet states, "With my soul have I desired Thee in the night," I am sure this can be both literal and symbolic. Certainly we know what it is to awaken in the night hours with an intense desire for His reality, We long for His holiness, righteousness, kingdom to be established in us, and in all the earth. Many a tear has been wept into a pillow, as desire burns within ― often without any clear-cut identity of what we even long for, it is just such a sense of emptiness, alack, a longing, Yet we know that only Christ can satisfy every desire of the heart.
            Symbolically, whenever we pass through another cycle of Jc, the dark night of the soul, when all is black, your moods are sullen, emotions seem very negative, darkness is casting its pall over everything around you, and your heart cries out with deep desire to emerge out of this barrenness, into a fuller life in God. So whether it be literal, or symbolic, we can relate to the words of the prophet, "With my soul have I desired thee in the night."
            "Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest, Return, ye children of men. ― Return, O Lord, how long? ― O satisfy us early with Thy mercy: that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. ― And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us." [Psalm 90:3,13-14,17].
            The Ferrar Fenton translation gives: "You set men in depression; ― Then You say, Sons of Adam return." I am sure many can relate to this thought, as they struggle with their depression and discouragements. Yet there is this inner calling to return to Him, and that desire to get out of all the present bleakness, back into the sunshine of His love.
            Young's Literal reads, "Thou turnest man unto a bruised thing..." and with all the bruisings humanity has passed through, many can relate to this specific wording. Every bruising only intensifies the DESIRE for a release from such stressful circumstances. Thank God for the promise, A bruised reed shall He not break." [Matthew 12:20], but He has purposed a healing, a restoration, till all is fully complete in Him, spirit, soul, and body.
            When God subjected creation to vanity, "not willingly, but by reason of Him who hath subjected the same in hope," [Romans 8:20], this immediately caused a deep sense of lack within, and the restlessness of desire was known. The inner void must be filled. Existence on this corruptible plane was not enough. The creature cried out to be restored into union with God, to live and breathe as one in Him. And herein is the process for our overcoming ― Will we turn to the things of the world about us to seek to satisfy every desire, or, will we seek after the things of God for our fulfillment?
            How comforting therefore is the promise, "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon Me, and ye shall go and pray unto Me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart." [Jeremiah 29:11-13].
            The same God, who in His wise purpose caused you to lack, to be turned to a bruising, to depression, etc. subjecting us to vanity, emptiness and void, is the One who also has thoughts of PEACE, completeness, for us. With tremendous wisdom and skill He is "working all things after the counsel of His own will: that we should be to the praise of His glory." [Ephesians 1:11-12].
            In the turning of man to destruction, He also implants the command, "RETURN, ye sons of men." The Psalmist understood this, and so he had but one question: "Return, O Lord, HOW LONG?" And then the heartfelt prayer, "0 satisfy us early with Thy mercy." For buried deep in the heart of every creature is that unconscious call to return to Father's house. Because it is buried so deep within, when the world feels the inner stirrings, that burning DESIRE, they seek out many avenues for fulfillment. But when we are awakened to the fact that it is GOD CALLING US HOMEWARD, then we also begin to beseech Him for His mercy, that He will restore us back into Himself.
            "How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!" [Romans 10:14-15]. Thank God for those today "in whose heart are the highways to Zion." [Psalm 84:5, Amplified], and they are beginning to preach the gospel of PEACE. Yes, to point men and women to Him who is our Peace. There is tremendous GOOD NEWS to be proclaimed, and it is that GOD can satisfy every desire of mail. And the promise remains, when they seek for Him with all their heart, He said, "AND I WILL BE FOUND OF YOU." [Jeremiah  29:14]. Bless His name!
            There is, however, the need for a real purifying of our desire, so that it is truly FOR GOD. So long has man sought to fill the void within by the things of the world, that his desire is often very perverted. We examine a few of these verses.
            "The soul of the wicked desireth evil." [Proverbs 21:10]. They have a desire, but it is very perverted, turned far away from righteousness, arid so it goes after that which is evil. And the deeper he gets into sin, the more he seeks for other evils, yet growing more dissatisfied all the while.
            "Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?" [James 4:5]. To lust ― literally, the Greek word is, an over-desire. Way out of balance, a burning passion, motivated by the spirit of the world, it pursues self -gratification, but is never satisfied.
            Truly, "The desire of the wicked shall perish." [Psalm 112:10].
            But it is also necessary to point out that a lot of man's desire is not evil, it is just natural, of this earth-creation realm. Solomon said, "I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I perceive that this also is vexation of spirit." [Eccl. 1:17]. Indeed, "Whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them... behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun." [Eccl. 2:10].
            From one end of the spectrum to the other, he tried it all, letting his desires wander in whatever direction they would go, but to no avail. He sought out wisdom, until he could certainly reason with the wisest of men, but this did not satisfy. Why be so serious-minded? So he turned to folly, until he laughed and laughed and laughed, and when the mirth was over, he was just as empty as when he started. All of it was empty, a vanity, yes, and a vexation of spirit. Spirit satisfaction cannot come from earthy things. Houses and lands, cars, travel, vacations, prestige, power, favour of man, and lofty positions ― there comes a time when man would gladly give it all up, if only there could be a satisfying of that inner desire.
            "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: fear God, and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of men." [Eccl.12:13]. Having tried all that the world had to offer, he had to bear witness that IN GOD ALONE is the answer to man's deepest desire.
            Fitting indeed therefore are the words of the beautiful chorus:

                         "Awaken my heart, to love and adore Thee, .0 my God,
                        Awaken my heart, to pour out before Thee, O my God,
                        Awaken my heart to know Thy love,
                                    and to love thee in return,
                        Freely flowing from an awakened heart."

             God must awaken in us a desire for Him, else in our blindness we simply run off in every direction, knowing not where to turn, knowing only that we must find an answer for the fire of desire that burns within.
            Paul sets forth the proper priority in 2 Corinthians 8:12, "For if there be FIRST A WILLING MIND, it is accepted according to that a man hath, not according to that he hath not."
            Willing ― the Greek word is "prothumia" meaning: readiness of mind. It comes from two parts: "pro" meaning: toward; and "thumos" meaning: passion, as if breathing hard. Thus, this breathing hard toward bespeaks of afire of desire. How we need this to be directed God-ward, so that "As the heart panteth after the waterbrooks, so panteth my soul after Thee, O God." [Psalm 42:1].
            Due to God's restraints upon us, and praise God for those restraints, we cannot do all the things that Solomon was allowed to do, but GOD SEES THE DESIRE OF THE HEART, and we will be judged by Him, not just for what we have done, but according to the desires of our heart. Man looketh on the outward appearance, but God looketh upon the heart. "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he." [Proverbs 23:7]. Therefore, "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life." [Proverbs 4:23].
            Jesus made this very clear. "Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: but I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already IN HIS HEART." [Matthew 5:27-28]. The desire is in the heart, and it is the desire that must be judged, purified, and directed towards righteousness. Then, "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled." [Matthew 5:6].
            Outer conduct is but a reflection of the real man inside. The fire of desire is the DRIVE behind the expression. When desire and opportunity meet, obviously there is an outward expression of that inner realm.
            "Through desire a man, having separated himself, seeketh and intermeddleth with all wisdom." [Proverbs 18:1].
            Intermeddleth ― the Hebrew is "gala" meaning: to be obstinate. If a man has a strong enough desire in a certain direction, he becomes most obstinate if someone seeks to deter him from his cause. He will not listen to reason, or anyone, because his DESIRE will propel him onward to seek to satisfy that inner passion. The Companion Bible footnote adds: "or quarreleth with." He is not only obstinate, but will even quarrel with those who would seek to dissuade him. Common sense is ignored when desire is strong enough.
            There are a dozen Hebrew words which have all been translated into our English language as "desire," and they range in expression from: a longing, delight, beseech, require, covet, lust after, to just incline toward. We will not go through the twelve, but will touch on the first three, A-B-C, avah, baqash, and chamad. It is significant that the first time each of these words is used in the Bible, each one is directed with DESIRE TOWARD GOD, to be able to worship Him, etc. But when that desire is turned away from being God-ward, then it becomes perverted into all sorts of things.
            I am sure most Bible students are aware that we are a tri-part being, body, soul, and spirit. Also each part is again tri-part. The body is blood, bone, and flesh. The soul bespeaks of the will (mental power to choose); the intellect (mental power to reason); and emotion-impulses (the mental forces directly urging to action). Our spirit also is tri-part. We have our conscience, which is a faculty of our spirit, a knowing of oneself. "For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him?" [1 Corinthians 2:11]. Then you have your intuition. This also is a faculty of your spirit, and bespeaks of a knowing of things outside yourself without being taught. And then we have our DESIRE, for this also is a part of our spirit. It is a desire to worship, to return into life, to God. Conscience, intuition, and desire ― these are all in our spirit. Desire does not spring from the mind, but if it is strong enough it will overrule all your intellection reason, control your will, and direct your emotions and impulses into an action seeking to fulfill that inner spirit-desire. That desire is best channeled into a desire to worship God, to be filled with Him, to be joined into oneness with His Spirit.
            Most religions have something to say and do with this question, since it is common to all mankind. Hinduism deals with the subject of desire by seeking to get rid of it by a process and technique designed to bring the personality to a desireless Brahma, an extinction of the flame.
            Buddhism would strike it with death and thus kill all desire for life (a strange and subtle delusion), and so enter Nirvana. This dying out in the heart of passion, hatred, is thought to bring one to oblivion to care, pain, or external reality. Since they could not satisfy the desire with divine reality, they would simply destroy it, put out the flame.
            Christianity offers the solution of trying to WORK IT TO DEATH, with endless involvements of programs, works. Seek to fulfill it through a do, do, do. Pour out your life in a service for God. Better, they say, to burn out for God, than to rust out. Ah, "They made me keeper of the vineyards; but mine own vineyard have I not kept." [Song of Solomon 1:6]. All while I worked so hard in all these programs, I was still neglecting that deep inner cry of my own desire ― I came not any closer to Him who alone can satisfy the heart. So busy working for Him, they had no time to come to know Him.
            Humanism takes its own approach, if it feels good, do it. So they encourage hedonism ― the doctrine that pleasure is the sole or chief good in life and that moral duty is fulfilled in the gratification of pleasure-seeking instincts and dispositions. Thus they seek to satisfy the inner desire with drink, drugs, excessive sex, seeking to silence the voice of an inner DESIRE FOR GOD. They are not aware that this spirit-desire is for God. They even try to teach that there is no God, except in that man himself is god. So they worship themselves and each other, but this will never meet the deep spirit desire within them.
            First, the word "avah" which is first found in Deuteronomy 18:6-7, and it means: to greatly desire, long for. "And if a Levite come from any of thy gates out of all Israel, where he sojourned, and COME WITH ALL THE DESIRE OF HIS MIND unto the place which the Lord shall choose; then he shall minister in the name of the Lord his God..." Whom did God call to minister even among the Levites? ― those who came unto Him out of an intense desire. Committed to this desire, drawn out of whatever city wherein he might have sojourned for a time, he COMES WITH ALL THE DESIRE of his mind, his heart. This is not a casual calling, taken up as a profession, to gain a livelihood. It is a DESIRE FOR GOD, to worship God, then to serve God, and so coming to the place which THE LORD SHALL CHOOSE, he is able to minister in His name.
            The second Hebrew word is "baqash" meaning: to search out (by any method, specially in worship or prayer), to ask, seek, desire. And its first usage is found in Exodus 10:11. Pharoah said, "Go now, ye that are men, and serve the Lord; for THAT YE DID DESIRE..." He would not allow them in this permission to take their wives and children, and so Moses would not accept this permission under those terms. But the point is, the first time this particular Hebrew word is used in the scripture, is relating to their DESIRE TO WORSHIP, SERVE THE LORD.
            The third Hebrew word is "chamad" meaning: to delight in, desire, as of a pleasant thing. And it also is associated with God, and man's worship of Him. Exodus 34:23-24, "Thrice in the year shall all your men children appear before the Lord God, the God of Israel. For I will cast out the nations before Thee, and enlarge thy borders: neither shall any man DESIRE THY LAND, when thou shalt go up to appear before the Lord thy God thrice in the year." Amazing! God promised that if they would faithfully serve and worship Him, He would even control the desire of their enemies, so that no man would have a carnal, selfish desire to take their land while Israel was appearing before the Lord in those places where they would gather before Him. Their enemies would be kept from stealing, robbing, coveting, or desiring even their land ― God would control all other nations desires, so long as Israel faithfully worshipped their God. Thus even though this word is used in reference to other men's desires, it is in relation to our worship of Him. Truly, "When a man's ways please the Lord, He maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him." [Proverbs 16:7]. Praise His name!
            One more negative example to note: Psalm 78:29-31, when Israel began to corn plain about their diet of manna, and cried for flesh to eat, God sent them the quail. "So they did eat, and were well filled: for He gave them their own desire; they were not estranged from their lust. But while their meat was yet in their mouths, the wrath of God came upon them..."
            How necessary it was for God to PURIFY THEIR DESIRE, until it would be only for Him. No more desire for quail, no flesh of any kind. The things of the world will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace. We will not love the world, neither the things in the world, as John writes in 1 John 2:15. When God "gave them their request; He sent leanness in their soul." [Psalm 106:15]. And then it was judgment time ― time to purge and correct, until all was pure within.
            "Therefore shall the Lord, the Lord of hosts, send among his fat ones leanness; and under His glory He shall kindle a burning like the burning of a fire. And the light of Israel shall be for a fire, and His Holy One for a flame: and it shall burn and devour his thorns and his briers in one day." [Isaiah 10:16-17]. What is the cure for thorns and briers? GOD'S FIRE! Then shall every man's desire be pure. What afire is on the horizon, to burn out the thorn and thistle, the products of perverted desires! The desire for fame, power, to build, for prosperity, for a ministry, for power to do -all shall be dealt with BY FIRE, until "The desire of our heart is to Thy name, and to the remembrance of Thee." [Isaiah 26:8] .
            And then what is the marvellous promise of God? "Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree." [Isaiah 55:13]. Once God has removed all the product of perverted desire, then shall come forth expressions of His pure desire. That they might be called "TREES OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, the planting of the Lord, that He might be glorified." [Isaiah 61:3].
            "Whom have I in heaven but Thee? and there is none on earth that I desire beside Thee. ― Thou hast destroyed all them that go a whoring from Thee." [Psalm 73:25, 27]. Perverted desires that lead us far away from God shall be thoroughly purged, and then we shall be able to declare, "There is none upon earth that I desire beside Thee," for all of our desire will be directed God-ward.
            David gave a strict charge to Solomon his son, "Know thou the God of thy fathers, and serve Him with a perfect heart and with a WILLING MIND (or, INTENSE DESIRE): for the Lord searcheth all hearts and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek Him, He will be found of thee: but if thou forsake Him, He will cast thee off for ever (for the age)." [1 Chronicles 28:9].
            Jesus Christ came, not to destroy life, nor to deny it, nor suppress it, but to bring us into more abundant life. He would enrich our life, by first cleansing our desires, and adjusting them until we can say, "Lord, all my desire is before Thee." [Psalm 38:9].
            Desire is a strong force of our spirit. Jesus recognized that, and so demanded a surrender of our life, in all of its meanings, unto Himself, so that as we become dead indeed unto sin, He would lift our desire to a spiritual level where it can freely move in God, and find its total satisfaction in Him. There it becomes sane, safe, holy, and amazing in its outreach for that UNION WITH HIM. We are to be conformed to His image ― amoral and spiritual likeness. We do not lose the identity of our personality, but we find that ONENESS IN HIM which satisfies all desire. This will bring us into that covenant relationship with Him where we live and breathe as one. The process ends, the PRODUCT IS ― a new creation in Christ.
            "One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in His temple." [Psalm 27:4].

So many passions burned within,
Strange fires' flick'ring flame,
Fanned by the spirit of this world,
So difficult to tame.

Desires that please only self,
For fame, prestige, and pow'r,
But such can never satisfy,
Nor last a fleeting hour.

The lack within -the empty void,
Such restlessness to know.
Desire reaches many ways ―
Yet knows not where to go.

 How blest the working of our God,
To purify this realm within,
Till one desire is all that's left,
Turned far away from sin.

A healthy flame that reaches out
For God, and God alone,
To find in Him fulfillment's peace,
Content before His throne.

A union with Himself, that we
May live and breathe as one.
Desire shall be satisfied ―
The fullness of the Son.

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(1)  Prinzing, Ray and Doris. WHISPERS OF EXPRESSING HIS LIFE. (now out of print), Boise, Idaho 83705}

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