Desires and Wants – Bible Study

DESIRES AND WANTS

In a world that constantly stirs our longings, we all wrestle with personal cravings, social expectations, and God’s higher calling. Scripture doesn’t ignore these tensions. Instead, it invites us to examine our hearts, be honest about what influences us, and reorient our desires toward what is good, lasting, and rooted in God’s will.

This study explores three overlapping arenas of desire: the pull of our own hearts, the pressure of others’ opinions, and the path God lays before us. It’s an invitation to slow down and ask, “What am I really chasing and why?” As you reflect, may your heart grow more aligned with God who desires your good.

MY DESIRES

Explores the nature of our personal wants, the inner battle, and God’s redirection of our desires.

James 4:1-2
What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?

Galatians 5:16-17
“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do”.

Jeremiah 17:9
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?

Ecclesiastes 6:9
Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the appetite: this also is vanity and a striving after wind.

Proverbs 21:2
Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the heart.

1 John 2:16
For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.

Romans 7:18
For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.

Psalm 10:3
For the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul, and the one greedy for gain curses and renounces the Lord.

Psalm 37:4
Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

What desires tend to dominate your thoughts or decisions right now?

Are there any hidden motivations or inner battles God is bringing to light?

DESIRES OTHERS HAVE FOR ME

These highlight the tension between human approval and God’s calling, and how others’ expectations can shape us.

Galatians 1:10
Am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God?

John 12:43
For they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.

Proverbs 29:25
The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.

1 Samuel 8:7
They have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them.

Mark 8:33
But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

Matthew 6:1
Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them…

Luke 6:26
Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets.

Isaiah 2:22
Stop regarding man in whose nostrils is breath, for of what account is he?

1 Thessalonians 2:4
…but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts.

Where in your life do you feel pressure to meet others’ expectations?

What’s the cost of seeking the approval of others instead of God’s?

WHAT GOD DESIRES OF ME

These verses centre on God’s will, character shaping, and the alignment of our hearts with His purposes.

Deuteronomy 10:12-13
And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord, which I am commanding you today for your good?

Micah 6:8
He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

Matthew 6:33
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness…

Romans 12:2
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

1 Peter 1:14-16
As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy”.

1 Thessalonians 4:3-8
For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. Therefore, whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.

Colossians 3:1-2
If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on the earth.

Philippians 2:13
For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

John 15:8
By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.

Where is your heart most out of sync with what God wants for you?

What step can you take this week to move from self-will to surrender?

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.