Lee Allen Howard

Lee Allen Howard 
 

What’s Lee Up To?

  1. Lee is the editor and publisher at Dark Cloud Press.
  2. For general information, see my Bio & Bibliography.
  3. My current projects are described on In the Works.
  4. Check out what I’ve been reading.
  5. Lee is the managing editor of the GLCC News.

 

Need Help?

Previous weekly articles are available in the archive. For more helpful writing resources, check out my Writing Studies.

If you need professional editing help, see my Editing Service.
 

Links

For helpful offsite information visit the Helpful Links page. Or see what my Friends are up to. To reach me, go to Contact.

Welcome to My Website

I read a lot. I write fiction. I edit and publish it, too.

Although I've taken most of the summer off, doing a lot of reading about metaphysical things, I wrote the following piece about desires. I hope you enjoy it.


Your Desires, God's Gifts

August 24, 2008

Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.

PSALM 37:4 NIV

"...true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."

JOHN 4:23b-24 NIV

What is God? God is a spirit. Those who worship him -- pay homage to him, glorify him -- must do so by operating in the realm of the spirit, according to spiritual truth principles.

When you delight yourself in God like a playful child, in the realm of the spirit, in spiritual truth principles, God gives you “the desires of your heart.” We’ve construed this to mean that God fulfills our wants. But that’s not what it means. It means that God gives us a desire -- he births a desire within us.

A desire for what?

For anything at all.

Whatever you find yourself desiring, longing for, it is the gift of God. Am I referring to the manifestation of your desire? No, I mean the desire itself. And such desires are as unique and varied as there are hearts to enjoy them.

“How can I know my desire is from God?” If it’s not illegal, immoral, and causes no harm to yourself or others, it’s a good desire -- no matter what it may be -- and it’s God’s gift to you.

Perhaps it’s something you want to own or achieve: the house of your dreams, a new bike, a college degree, or climbing Mt. Everest. Or maybe it’s a place you’ve always wanted to go -- France, Egypt, Africa. The opportunity to serve humankind with your unique gifts and talents. Or a million other things.

If you desire it, it’s proof that God has gifted you.

Where does God plant this desire?

In your heart, your connection to the realm of the spirit. Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is within you” (Lk 17:1). He also taught us to pray, “your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Mt 6:10). Heaven is the spiritual realm. God’s will is communicated from the spiritual realm into your heart in the form of a desire. God wants you to translate those intangible desires (“as it is in heaven”) into possessions, achievements, activities (“on earth”).

But you must operate in the realm of the spirit according to spiritual truth principles. Using the Law of Attraction, YOU are responsible for turning those intangible desires into something concrete. YOU must do the work of manifesting the spiritual into the physical.

When the storm rocked the boat, the disciples woke Jesus, who calmed the wind and waves, and then said to them, “Why did you fear? Where is your faith?” He manifested his desire into the earthly realm, and he obviously expected them to be able to do this also. He still expects us to do this.

What desire has God placed in your heart? Are you waiting for God to hand it to you on a silver platter? If so, it’s not going to happen. Using your faith, you must apply yourself in the realm of the spirit and use the Law of Attraction to manifest -- bring from the kingdom of God within you into the physical plane -- that which God has planted in your heart.

This is the best way to say “Thank you” to God for giving you the desires of your heart.

“Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.”

JOHN 16:24 NIV

–Lee Allen Howard

Archived articles in PDF