Don't allow Desires to become your NEEDFUL Thing

The past month has been remarkable for me.  

In my last blog post, I discussed how I did not want my desire for marriage to become a distraction.  

My position solidified in the last month because  I realized that it would become a NEEDFUL THING by allowing my desire to become a distraction.  Needful things are exploited by the enemy and can cause us to be led astray.

A Housefire

One of my friends suggested that we have a house fire. A house fire is a group of friends getting together to pray, worship, prophesy on one of there and catch fire in the spirit. Our Housefire left me exhausted.  It honestly left many of us feeling zapped. 

I believe things were happening in the spiritual realm, and that is why the housefire was so exhausting.

The day after the housefire was Valentine's Day, and honestly, I didn't really care.  I was too tired and thinking about the previous evening.  I ended up spending the day watching a few Hallmark movies. I also concluded that I would not want to ruin a ministry or a friendship because of romantic aspirations.  Some causes are bigger than my own selfish wants and desires.

Needful Things

The next week I had a dream where the book Needful Things by Stephen King was mentioned. I had read the book in my 20's and remembered it vaguely, but I decided to reread the book because I was feeling "some type of way."   Perhaps this book would provide clarity.

Here's the Amazon synopsis of Needful Things

Master storyteller Stephen King presents the classic #1 New York Times bestseller about a mysterious store than can sell you whatever you desire—but not without exacting a terrible price in return.

Everyone in town seems willing to make a deal at Needful Things, but the devil is in the details. And no one takes heed of the little sign hanging on the wall: Caveat emptor. In other words, let the buyer beware…

I felt like my desire for marriage and a relationship had become a distraction in my life.  I also felt that I was not following wise counsel.  I honestly felt like it was the enemy trying to get me to collapse and fumble the ball on the 1-yard line.

So I read the book, and Oh my Gosh! 

Of course ...Stephen King is definitely not a "Christian writer," but I think his stories contain many Christians to think about.

For instance, in Needful Things, when Satan comes to town in the form of the Needful Things shopkeeper Leland Gaunt, what are the local Catholic and Baptists doing? They are Fighting over Casino Night at the local Catholic church.  They don't notice Satan because they're too busy majoring in the minors!  Things that make you go Hmmmm...

I didn't feel so bad about reading Stephen King after reading an article in Christianity Today about how a Christian author cited Stephen King's books as one of his favorites!

After I finished the book, I had an "A-ha Moment": "I need to keep the main thing the main thing.  I will not allow my desires to become a distraction."  

My big takeaway: Once your desires become a Needful Thing, the enemy can distract you and get you off track by dangling temptations in front of you and telling you what you want to hear.  That was what was bothering me about the previous few weeks.  I felt that there were impulsive decisions and lapses in judgment due to desires becoming "Needful Things." 

I had to get my mind right, and I had to get back on track.

I firmly declared that "The main thing is going to be the main thing, and the policy was still going to be God will give me everything I need if I make the Kingdom of God my primary concern.."

Then things went awry.

A Spiritual Attack...

About two weeks after the housefire, I started experiencing physical symptoms, including stomach cramps and other gastrointestinal distress out of the blue.  Later, I found out that intercessors were praying for leaders in the church because they felt a spiritual attack.

I told her my symptoms started around Friday morning about 8:45 a.m., and my friend said, "Are you serious?! That's when we were praying!"

Even before I talked to my friend, I didn't think this was solely physical.  I honestly believed I was under mental and spiritual attack.

That weekend I was awakened at night with stomach troubles, but God also gave me a list of people to pray for, and at one point, I ended up on my knees in worship. 

For the next several days I went on prayer health walks and started to feel better. My stomach would feel better when walking and praying. On the day I was scheduled to speak with the doctor while on my walk, I called into our church's prayer perimeter and spoke to our Church Prayer Leader, Teela.  She was one of the people that I prayed for in the middle of the night. 

She said that I had been highlighted to her as she proceeded to pray for my physical symptoms.  She shared how she had her own physical illness a few months before, and it miraculously went away.  She believed God was getting her attention.

After talking with Teela, I spoke with the doctor, and she didn't think it was too much to worry about.  Well, that same day all the symptoms were gone. Even now, I'm puzzled that I don't have one symptom.  Not a thing.

This incident motivated me to contact my friends that I serve with on our Impact Ministry Core Team.  I told them we needed to cover one another in prayer.  Our leader Marques had us double up and pray for one another.  Turns out every single one of us needed that prayer that week.

All I can come up with is that God needed my attention.  I would not have been praying for others or telling others to pray for one another had that incident not happened.

It's just not about me...

My big takeaway from that experience was that "It's not just about me."  It's about what God is doing in the collective. One of the most annoying trends in the American Church is its individualism and focus on me, me, me.  My blessing...what I want...on and on.

Bring back "The Beloved Community"

It's time to bring back the Beloved Community as found in the book of Acts, but you can't do that if everyone is obsessed with obtaining their "Needful Things".  This is one of the novel's great lessons: To keep their "Needful Thing," the citizens are focused on keeping it at everyone else's expense.

Since that incident, I've been able to step up and pray for others, encourage others, and been called upon to serve in areas that I'm passionate about.  I am thankful, and I realize that this journey is not just about me.  It's about serving others, and it is about God being glorified.

This is the model of Jesus's ministry and so shall it be for me.