Fulfilling our Calling - Pursuing Your Desires* - Download PDF Article OR Listen to MP3

Yahweh called [klesis]FN1 us before the world was formed that we might be holy and blameless in His presence. "…We are––his workmanship, created in Christ Yahshua upon a footing of good works, which Yahweh prepared beforehand, that, therein, we might walk" (Eph. 1:4, 2:10). Yahweh offers an invitation to each and every child of His. This invitation is to take a course He has plotted for our lives through Christ, our Lord, Savior and Head. We have been called to fulfill Yahweh's will, individual tasks specifically designed for us to complete before we go to sleep. The direction for our individual courses was not given to our parents, neither were they written on paper and given to our pastors but rather our courses have been placed upon the tables of our own hearts by way of ruah (spirit).FN2 Our course is unveiled through the godly desires stirring within our hearts, leading us onward and upward, if we but heed its call. This article is for the individuals, like David, who daily sought to please Yahweh. The instruction Nathan the prophet gave David was, "All that is in thy heart, go––do,––for Yahweh is with thee" (2 Sa. 7:3).

Our calling is not our destiny. Destiny means, "that which is destined or fated to happen; predetermined events collectively."FN3 The only destiny or predetermined event we have is that we will all die, except for the believers who are alive during the ParousiaFN4 of the Lord. Even Yahshua, who had a course plotted for him by the Father,FN5 was not destined to take that course but rather he chose it.FN6 What we do with our lives before we die is up to us. We have freedom of will. We may choose to follow the unholy desires of the flesh or the holy desires of the ruah (spirit). The ruah of Yahweh is directing our hearts to fulfill the will of Christ. The calling for our lives, which comes from Yahweh, is not going to come to pass unless we decide to obey His voice. If we reject our individual missions, He will need to get someone else to fulfill the missions, as was done with the Israelites. The Israelites, upon entering the land of Canaan, were commanded to destroy the inhabitants.FN7 They did not destroy all the inhabitants of Canaan, one of which was the Philistines. Their unfulfilled mission then became a mission resting on the shoulders of the judges, one of which was Samson. Saul and David also were finishing the uncompleted mission of the Israelites who first entered the land of Canaan. Our lives are not predestined, even though this English word is used in many inaccurate Bible translations.FN8 The Greek word translated, 'predestined,' is 'proorizo.'FN9 Pro-orizo means pro 'before,' orizo 'boundaries.'FN10 A literal translation of proorizo is 'having set bounds before.'FN11 Our Father has given us freedom of will, a hallmark of His love for us. He doesn't want puppets as children.

Our will or desire is our motivating force. Will is the Greek word, 'thelema,' which means will, choice, inclination, desire or pleasure.FN12 In Matthew 6:10, thelema is translated 'will' and then in Ephesians 2:3 it is translated 'desire.'FN13 Before we chose Yahshua as our Master, our will or desire was basically to fulfill the lust of our flesh.FN14 Once we actually commit to Yahshua being our Master, we no longer live for ourselves but for him who in our behalf died and rose again (2 Cor. 5:15). If we call him Master or Lord, we commit ourselves to do his will, as he committed himself to do the Father's will.FN15

Christ's will is our Father's will, written in Scripture and written supernaturally upon our hearts by way of ruah (spirit). His will becomes our will, his desires become our desires, his pleasure becomes our pleasure and his choices become our choices. Why? We have made him our Lord, our Master, our Friend! As servants, we need direction in order to fulfill our Master's will. Christ is the Head of the Body (the Church). As the Body of Christ, we have the mind of Christ.FN16 Our physical head or mind gives directions to our body, which obeys as long as the body does not rebel against the head. Our head tells the body to exercise but the body refuses because exercise doesn't feel good to the body. The person who has committed to serving the Head makes his members obey the will and desires of Christ. These people obey the inner desires upon their heart even if their obedience to these desires results in them performing undesirable tasks, as does a prophet when he reproves people.

When we become Christians, we receive the gift of ruah (spirit).FN17 Ruah is an invisible force or power, which also teaches us and directs our lives.FN18 (See the article, "Spirit & Soul") An example of ruah leading is illustrated with the Apostle Paul when he was on Mars Hill in Athens; "But, while, in Athens, Paul was expecting them, his spirit [ruah] within him was being urged on, seeing how the city was given to idols" (Acts 17:16). Another illustration is when Paul was on a evangelical trip. Paul was following the desires of his heart, which also was Christ's desire until Christ, by way of ruah, informed him where not to go; "And they passed through the Phrygian and Galatian country, being forbidden by the holy spirit [ruah] to speak the word in Asia; but, coming along Mysia, they were attempting to journey into Bithynia,––and, the spirit [ruah] of Yahshua, suffered them not; but, passing by Mysia, they came down unto Troas. And, a vision, by night, unto Paul appeared:––A man of Macedonia, there was, standing and beseeching him, and saying––Come over into Macedonia, and bring us succour" (Acts 16:6-9)! What can we learn from Paul's mission?

Paul's mission and desire was to serve Christ. He "…said unto Barnabas––Let us now return, and visit the brethren in every city in which we have declared the word of Yahweh, and see how they are" (Acts 15:36). This desire was put upon his heart by Christ or otherwise Christ would have stopped him from taking the journey. He was fulfilling the desire of Christ, which was also his desire until he decided to journey into Asia. Christ changed that desire or will of Paul to a desire to not to go to Asia. This is saying it mildly. He was 'forbidden to go to Asia,' which is a considerably stronger term than 'do not go to Asia.' The term forbidding is implying that Paul's desire to go to Asia was very strong, which was obviously not Christ's desire or will. His will was strong to teach the Glad-Message in Asia even to the point of possibly disobeying Christ's leading. This has happened to many missionaries. Their desire to teach the Gospel in a place which they or another have chosen, overrode Christ's leading by way of ruah, resulting in their death or in their being unproductive. Their heart, lead by their Head, Christ, all along told them not to go but they disobeyed the inner stirring of their heart. These religious actions, which were done with good intentions, actually took people out of the will of Christ rather than fulfilling the will of Christ.

Yahweh or Christ will correct us if our desires are not totally aligned with their desires. This is illustrated in the life of David. David consulted with the prophet Nathan, Yahweh's spokesman, that he wanted to build Yahweh a house. "And Nathan said unto the king, All that is in thy heart, go––do,––for Yahweh is with thee" (2 Sa. 7:3). Yahweh revealed to Nathan later that evening that David was not to build him the house but rather his son would.FN19 David received this Word from Yahweh resulting in Solomon building the Temple.

Walking in the supernatural is actually following the desires of our heart. (We can exclude walking in the desires of our flesh which have been identified in Scripture.)FN20 Our missions in life are being etched upon our heart, day by day, by Christ, by way of ruah, manifesting itself as our desires and hungers. Acting on these desires and hungers propels us forward thereby fulfilling our individual missions. These missions are part of Yahweh's callings on our lives. Our desires and hungers do not appear to be supernatural leadings but they are. This is illustrated in the life of David. No one, including prophets, messengers or Yahweh, told David to fight Goliath but rather men discouraged him.FN21 The desire of David's heart, which was Yahweh's desire, was to slay Goliath, thereby delivering the Israelites from the Philistines. Another one of David's desires was to build a house for Yahweh.FN22 Yahweh's desires must have been placed upon his heart by way of the ruah (spirit) of Yahweh.FN23 We, like David, have the ruah of Yahweh abiding and working within us.

Sampson is another example of Yahweh putting desires into someone's heart; "And Samson went down to Timnath,––and saw a woman in Timnath, of the daughters of the Philistines. So he came up, and told his father and his mother, and said––A woman, have I seen in Timnath, of the daughters of the Philistines,––now, therefore, take her for me, to wife. And his father and his mother said to him––Is there not, among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, a woman, that thou art going away to take a woman from among the uncircumcised Philistines? But Samson said unto his father––Take, her, for me, for, she, is pleasant in mine eyes. Now, his father and his mother, knew not, that, from Yahweh, it was, that, an occasion, he was seeking of the Philistines,––at that time, the Philistines having dominion over Israel" (Jud. 14:1-4). Sampson, by the desires of his heart was performing the will of Yahweh, through means of the ruah of Yahweh.FN24

We, like David and Sampson, have received ruah, which is power. We have Christ in us the hope of the glory.FN25 Christ as our Head supplies us with what we need; "And not holding fast the head: from which, all the body, through means of its joints and uniting bands, receiving supply, and connecting itself together, groweth with the growth of Yahweh" (Col. 2:19); "But, pursuing truth––may, in love, grow into him in all things,––who is the head, Christ,–– Out of whom all the body––fitly framing itself together, and connecting itself, through means of every joint of supply, by way of energising in the measure of each single part––secureth the growing of the body, unto an upbuilding of itself in love" (Eph. 4:15-16). Christ has daily missions or assignments for everyone of his brothers and sisters. Christ leads, instructs and motivates the individual members of his Body as a CEO does when running his company. How does Christ predominately communicate to us?

We complete our missions in life by first desiring and obeying the written Word, which guides us daily in our actions in a general sense. The written Word will not direct us specifically on our careers, jobs, relationships etc. but Christ will, if we give him our hearts and chose to walk by faith. He does this by energizing individual desires upon our hearts, such as having a desire to telephone someone, pursuing ambitions, careers, education etc. This spiritual energizing is recorded in Philippians 2:13; "For it is, Yahweh, who energiseth within you, both the desiring and the energising, in behalf of his good pleasure."  His desires become our desires because we live with him.FN26 Isaac Newton, a brother in Christ, pursued his driving desires (calling) into science and Scripture, which benefited all of mankind. John Locke, also a brother in Christ, a friend of Isaac Newton, pursued his driving desires (calling) into natural philosophy, Scripture and government, which benefited a founding father, and president of the United States of America, who was John Adams, a brother in Christ, who also pursued his desires in justice, government and Scriptures, which were his callings from Yahweh.

We have been instructed in Proverbs 3:5-6, "Trust thou in Yahweh, with all thy heart, and, unto thine own understanding, do not lean: In all thy ways, acknowledge him, and, he, will make straight thy paths." By acknowledging and trusting in Yahweh and Christ, they will make straight our paths by directing our desires; "Who then is the man that revereth Yahweh? Let Him direct him into the way he should choose" (Ps. 25:12).FN27 Yahweh has placed each one of us in the Body of Christ as it has pleased Him.FN28 Our individual duties and missions have or will be placed on our hearts as desires and hungers as we seek to do his will. These desires may be seeking the spiritual or seeking the natural. George Washington Carver read the Bible every day and attributed his great scientific accomplishments to Yahweh and Christ.FN29 There are billions of people who have spiritual and natural needs, which Christ is attempting to meet through each and every one of us. Christ may have you living in a small town or village to be his representative, an ambassador that is called to fulfill his will in your local community. Others may be called to leave their communities and become house wives, doctors, scientists, custodians, politicians, pastors, mechanics etc. Paul said, "I exhort you, therefore, I, the prisoner in the Lord, to walk in a manner worthy of the calling wherewith ye were called" (Eph. 4:1). Each day, Christ gives us our marching orders which are manifested as the desires of our heart. We, his representatives, will either obey these orders or discard them as something trivial, never fully realizing that they were orders from Christ. An earnest desire to: telephone, write a letter, give money, encourage, exhort, comfort, reprove, correct, help, minister healing to, prophesy to or avoid someone could very well be from Christ. An earnest desire to cure cancer, work in a nursing home, write a song or be a comedian could also very well be a leading from Christ.

How do we determine if our desires are natural or supernatural? As we discussed above, fleshly desires are easily identified. Natural desires can fade away but there is something about a supernatural desire that stirs within us, calling out to be fulfilled, an itch needing to be scratched. If the desire does not go away and we have been in communion with Yahweh and Christ then very probably it is a leading by Christ. As we fulfill these desires many times we see the fruit instantly, recognizing that it was Christ touching our heart with a desire. An example of this is illustrated when Paul was teaching and a certain man in Lystra, impotent in his feet was hearing him. Paul "…looking steadfastly at him, and seeing he had faith to be made well,  Said, with a loud voice––Stand up on thy feet, erect! And he sprang up, and began to walk about" (Acts 14:8-10). Another example of walking in the supernatural is when Paul was on a ship and said to the centurion, the master, and the ship-owner, "…Sirs! I perceive that, with damage and great loss, not only of the cargo and of the ship, but even of our persons, shall the voyage certainly be attended (Acts 27:10). They did not listen to him, which resulted in the loss of the ship and cargo. His perception came from the stirring of his heart. Timing is another witness to our walking by the ruah; money sent at the right time; a telephone call to a person who was depressed or ill witness to the fact that what we did was supernatural.

We must not interfere with a friend or relative, who is walking with Christ, when they have a strong desire to pursue a career or vocation that seems to us to be ludicrous. We have not been called in that area, which weakens our understanding of this calling. Their strong desire could be coming from Christ, who is leading them into their calling. Many successful people have had friends and family members attempt to stop them from their divine course. These people followed the desire of their hearts rather than the counsel of their friends and family, thereby pleasing Christ. Others have listened to their friends and family members rather than their heart resulting in missing their divine mission. This leads us to the reason why many of us do not fully fulfill our many divine missions in life.

Fear, I believe, is the number one reason why people resist and extinguish their inner desire or hunger given by Christ by way of ruah: fear of what people will say, fear of failing, financial fears and family fears to name only a few. The opposite of fear is faith. If Christ called you to complete a task, then he will equip you with all of the necessary resources. We must believe that Yahweh, the Creator, is fully able to supply all of our needs and that He is a rewarder to those who diligently seek Him.FN30  We must believe that Yahweh and Christ dwell in us by way of ruah. We must believe that we all have individual missions as members of the Body of the Christ. We must believe that we all have been given individual gifts, enabling us to perform the tasks that will fulfill our missions.FN31 If we lack a gift, as Moses did, then Yahweh will supply it as we follow His leading.FN32

We must believe that Yahweh's and Christ's guidance can come to us through our desires. The evidence is presented through out the Word of Yahweh. We must begin with the knowledge of Yahweh's written Word, from which our guidance issues forth, instructing us in the desires of the flesh and the desires of the ruah.FN33 Our hearts must be kept pure because, "…out of it, are the issues of life" (Pr. 4:23). As we daily commit our hearts to our Lord, his desires will become our desires; his resolve will become our resolve. Faith and not fear must live within our hearts. Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible and receives the impossible, which is well pleasing to our Heavenly Father. Let it be said of us as it was of King David, "All that is in thy heart, go––do,––for Yahweh is with thee" (2 Sa. 7:3).   

P.S. Attached is a 45 minute teaching on this subject by Andrew Womack. Andrew Womack has much to offer but he also errs concerning the Scriptures. The Scripture he uses in his teaching is Psalms 37:4, which in most translations read, "Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires [mish'alah] of your heart." The Hebrew word translated desires is mish'alah (mish-aw-law), which is only used twice in the Old Testament. The other usage is in Psalms 20:5, which reads. "We will rejoice in your salvation, And in the name of our God we will set up our banners! May the LORD fulfill all your petitions [mish'alah]." Mish'alah means request, petition, desire. Rotherham translated Psalms 37:4 as, "Yea, rest thy delight on Yahweh, that he may give thee the requests [mish'alah] of thy heart," which would be actuate. Young translates the verse as "And delight thyself on Jehovah, And He giveth to thee the petitions of thy heart." Andrew Womack also uses the word destiny in his teaching, which is inaccurate. We are accountable to go to the Word of Yahweh to see if what he teaches is true. I encourage you to listen to the teaching but at the same time "search the Scriptures,––whether these things could be so."