Day 161, Year 1

Two Different Kinds of Desire

God said to Cain, “If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.” (Genesis 4:7 NKJV)

“I am my beloved’s, and his desire is toward me.” (Song of Solomon 7:10 NKJV)
In both verses of today, the two words “desire” are the same in Hebrew, teshuqah, meaning “an urging longing, or craving.” The first verse indicates that sin’s desire was for Cain at that time. On the other hand, the second verse indicates that the bridegroom desires the beloved, which could be compared to Jesus’ love for His people. Of course, the desire between a man and a woman is commonly understood, so it needs no further explanation. But sin, possibly referring to the evil spirits behind it, desires sinners. This is frightening, as everyone would have times when they “do not do well.” So, we should entrust our struggles with not doing well to Jesus, while seeking His mercy and help to change ourselves. Similarly, Jesus’ desire is toward His people. When the Lord knocks on the door of the church, He has so much divine longing for His people, so that He wants to enter into our lives and dine with us.

When people are busy with various things, they might not easily feel these two forces competing for their souls. The devil tries every means to implant sin within people and thus craves to control them. In contrast, Jesus wants to politely enter into our hearts, gently knocking on our inner doors, so that we could live in the joy of His presence. When thinking about Jesus knocking on the doors, we have to admit that the sins within people, even the power of evil spirits, desire to muffle His voice. We always need to reject all evil forces and voices in order to hear His voice clearly. Indeed, Jesus’ knocking reflects His respect and longing for people. His longing demonstrates that in His eyes, each person is so precious to Him. Jesus does not want to see people walking on the path of destruction, so He continually knocks on the doors of people’s hearts within a certain period of time.

Finally, believers may ponder: Are we truly willing to let our lives wholly belong to the “beloved,” to the Lord Jesus, or continue to belong to sins and evil spirits? If you decide to belong to the Lord, you could give your chaotic thoughts to Him, letting Him calm the storms in your heart as He calms the storms and raging sea, thereby allowing you to hear His voice clearly. If you feel that you belong to the Lord, it would be natural for you to open the door of your heart for Him!

Reflection questions:

1) Have you felt that sin has desired you? If so, were you able to overcome it all by yourself? Why?

2) Do you feel how the Lord Jesus treasures you? Are you willing to belong solely to Him?