From Philippians 1:12-20: What’s your greatest desire in life? Paul had an eager expectation for something very specific. If we want to live into the life God is calling us to, we’ll adopt that same expectation, that same desire.

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What is your greatest desire?

When you step back and look at your life, your actions, your dreams, your aspirations, what does all that point toward?

Maybe your greatest desire is to have a happy, healthy family. You know, the hallmark picture of family dinner with everyone smiling and laughing, and enjoying each other. Family. Maybe that’s your greatest desire.

Or maybe while you’d admit having a happy, healthy family is a very noble desire and maybe you’d even aspire to want that to be your greatest desire, but if you’re honest, after considering your actions and your dreams, your goals and your life, maybe your greatest desire is money. You want to have resources. And the interesting thing about this desire is that it can be your greatest desire whether you’re well-off financially or whether you’re struggling to keep your head above water. 

Or maybe you’re a little simpler than that, at least in your mind. Maybe your greatest desire is to simply have a good reputation. To be thought of positively. To be respected in your industry or in the community. You might notice that when someone doesn’t think well of you it eats you up and when someone is positive toward you it brings you so much happiness that it often feels like your feelings are dictated by others more than anything else.

Or maybe, after considering the pattern and common thread throughout your life, you’d say that avoiding pain and experiencing more comfort is your greatest desire. You know, you want to avoid stress so you don’t take the promotion. You want to avoid conflict so you avoid a friendship. You want to avoid pain so you choose not to change even though you know your health requires it. 

Or maybe none of those resonate and you see that your greatest desire is to have fun. You want life to be an adventure of happiness and that is the lens you look at things through and make decisions through. Is it fun? Will it be fun? If yes, then the answers’ yes. If no, well there you go.

These are insufficient “greatest desires”

No matter where you and I land on these greatest desires, one thing we cannot miss is how fleeting they all are. 

If any of these things sit at the pre-eminent place in our hearts, we’re going to be in for a world of hurt because these aims will never fully satisfy. In fact, they are all destined to be let downs eventually.

But there is a better way, a better option.

As we dive into the book of Philippians, we’re going to see the greatest aim we can have in life and how having our greatest desire formed by Jesus changes everything for the better.

Philippians: Finding Joy in a Discouraging World

Last week we began our series in Philippians and we got to see the origin story of the Philippian church and how the gospel had disrupted social barriers like sexism, classism, and racism.