When Your Desires and God’s Plans Are Different

Just because you desire something deeply doesn’t mean it’s God’s plans for you. Sometimes our desires and God’s will are different. Our desires are not predictors of the future and they’re not the voice of God. We are supposed to tend to our desires and discern what is being revealed through them, but letting them dictate your path in life is not wise.

Especially when it comes to romantic relationships, we tend to favor the decisions that would give us our desire. If the person you desire keeps coming up in prayer, it’s because you keep bringing him or her up. Don’t fool yourself. At the heart of this desire is probably a good longing for marriage and a family. Acknowledging the desire for what it is will help you make a more clear-headed decision regarding it.

You may also have a desire to pursue a certain career path. If you want to sing, for example, do you want to spend every day singing and live the life of a singer? When you acknowledge the realistic lifestyle your dream job would entail, it often brings sobriety to your desire. If the desire still does not subside, don’t automatically assume it’s because it must be your destiny. Examine your past, your conscience, and the things that have influenced you. Examine the things that may have brought about this desire. This examination will teach you valuable things about yourself.

Our desire for goodness and holiness is a good thing. We have these desires so we can learn more about what’s deepest in our hearts. So next time one of your recurring desires come back, go deeper and ask yourself, “What does this desire really reveal about me? What do I really want at the very core of it?” Bring it to prayer and God will reveal something very profound, as he has often been known to do.

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[skylarhiggs]

This is a hard pill to swallow, however, convenient timing as always

[freshbrewedasmr]

I’ve been wanting to be a consecrated virgin since 13 years ago when Jesus Hinself told me I would be consecrated to Him and visit the Holy Land. I did end up visiting the Holy Land 3 years ago, and I’ve been trying to convince the bishop to let me become a consecrated virgin. It’s been a hard struggle, a purgatory on earth, because I have to wait to get permission to become a consecrated virgin when Jesus Himself told me I would be one. And whenever I’m afraid this desire comes from me and not from Him, He has always sent a sign to me ( a clear spiritual or physical sign) that it is His Will. Please pray for me that I may become a consecrated virgin by April 3rd (or at least very soon). God bless you all

[MariaPullatt]

"Because you keep bringing him up" ugh why do you have to call me out like that?! 😭

[filipkarwowski]

I think a nice, concise way to simplify it is this:
Whatever you desire, discern and strive to do, place Jesus at the center of it all. In the end, the vocation you pursue isn’t as important as its end goal; Because all we do is for the glory of God and so that we may be reunited with him.
God will be with you through it all 👍🏻

[gillysparrowlegs]

I got what I desired when I let go and started praying for what God's will was for me, not what MY will wanted...it's really hard to let go, but beauty is born out of humility.

[marskatz]

Our desires are not predictors of the future neither are they the voice of God. SO TRUE!
But we are to attend to our desires

[StevenJBosch]

Please remember my sister in prayer who will be treated for oral cancer later this month.

[maryrosedoucette]

This has been my experience with religious life. I felt a desire for it as a young teenager, and received unfortunate advice that "any desire for such a life must be a true vocation!". So I persisted, even though the closer it got to my date of entering, I was consumed with anxiety and dread. Eventually I decided not to, and over the years have realized that I simply had a desire for holiness, a desire for a deep prayer life- not necessarily for the life of a religious Sister.

[sanzzz]

“Let the Lord unfold what He wants to unfold.” Ahhhh complete trust!

[Rob-xleq]

"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" -Jer 17:9

[kellyhayward]

When our desires become so strong they overshadow the prayer, "Thy will be done, God" we are actually struggling with an idol of the heart. However, when we surrender all that we are to what God has for us and stay in step with the spirit, our desire will change. Christ before me. Christ behind me. Christ beside me. Christ within me.

[ramik]

One thing I've learned about desires is that if you make it a thing, it'll take up a lot of your time and thoughts, and drive you mad even. The truest desires are the ones you can put to sleep. And, it will wake up one day more alive than ever. I used to want to be a writer. But, be it, or be it not, I let it go when I was around 20. At 30, all of a sudden I started writing, and I was able to write how I always wanted to, and I've only grown better at it now almost 40. I think that's a test a person should do when dealing with desires that seem to take up time and are not seeming like they're going to pan out. Put them to sleep. Only when they reawaken after some time had past, that shows you're on the right path. I think God wants nothing more than to fulfill our desires. "Ask, and you shall receive, seek, and you'll shall find." But God isn't going to truly answer such unless your heart is fully willing. If a desire is only alive because you keep breathing life into it, maybe it's not a true desire. But, if a desire doesn't need our will to exist or not exist, that's something else. Something only God can put into us. And I think that's when we can truly know if it came from Him.

[traethibodeaux]

Love it Fr. Mike. I have a prayer that states "Lord, please feed those desires that are in conjunction with Your will, and please remove those desires that are not in conjunction with Your will" This is because of exactly what you said...desires can lead us astray!!!

[violetm]

I've finally been struck by the "this Ascension Presents video came at just the right time" that I've been seeing in comments in past videos. I've legit been praying about what he's talking about just this weekend!

[templarrain]

I willl start my sentence with 'Unless you're Padre Pio...' from now on.

[englishlearningcenter]

Man! As an ex protestant and now a committed Catholic, this video is really a wake up call.
Lord! Jesus prayer at Gethsemane is a reference to this: Abba Father remove this cup from me, yet, not what I want, but what you want.

Amen

[sheilaquatro]

I just put everything in God's hands
I say this is what I want but it's up to You where you want me.🙏

[tonyhayes]

Here's my experience. I met a younger woman who spoke of love being the most important thing. Not happiness because happiness can come and go, but love, because we can always love. I was immediately attracted to her person. She is a good person. To follow up on that attraction would have been disastrous. Yeah, I'm already married right. Take it to a spiritual director and work through it. What did I have in common with the woman in our everyday lives? Nothing. So what was I attracted to? I was attracted to the love she spoke about, i.e. the love of God Himself because I already know that God is Love, not us. Problem solved, disaster avoided.

[RanMouri]

"Can I get that little retweet?" killed me, Father! 😂 Thank you for clarifying that the strong desires that emerge in prayer do not predict the future. They mean something about us, but they don't tell us what to do or what will happen.

[guardianangel]

This shows that our relationship with Jesus, and other people, is not about feelings and emotions but about being open to and following God's Will, not our own. There are many times I desired grandiose things but they blew up in my face, so to speak. I knew then an there that those things were not good for my soul, not God's Will. I used to see them as life failures, but when we seek the Lord, He reveals that they are life lessons instead. Spiritual and personal growth results and your heart and soul finds peace.