A young man, bursting with pride, came to the great philosopher Socrates. His quest was wisdom. The young man approached Socrates and said, "O great Socrates, I come to you for knowledge." Socrates saw through the young man's compliments and began leading the juvenile through the streets. Their destination? The wild, unruly oceanfront.

Socrates took the lad by the hand and led him into the water until he was knee-deep in crashing waves. Socrates inquired, "What do you want?"

The young man replied with a sly smile, "Knowledge, O wise Socrates."

With all his strength, Socrates pushed the young man's head under water and held it there for 30 seconds. He then asked again, "What do you want?"

His young friend sputtered, "Wisdom, O great and wise Socrates."

After plunging the young man's head beneath the waves and holding him there for 40 seconds, Socrates repeated his question. The young man's reply was: "Knowledge, O wise and wonderful."

Down the young man went again. This time, Socrates let him stay under the saltwater, waves lapping across his face, for 50 seconds. Upon hearing Socrates' question the fourth time, the young man screamed, "Air! I need air!"

So Socrates was then able to make his point: "When you want knowledge as you have just wanted air, then you will have knowledge."

While the Lord certainly isn't as harsh with us as Socrates was with his young protege, our attitudes are often similar to that of the young man in the story. We allow desires for the world's charms to mingle with the desires given to us by God. Our minds flirt with the worldly desires to the point of consumption.

We soon want so many different things that we can't remember what we truly wanted in the first place. Confusion sets in, and we struggle to decipher God-given desires from our own pursuits.

God does not lead us down the path of confusion. Psalm 25:12 says, "Who is the man who fears the Lord? He will instruct him in the way he should choose."

The first part of that verse is the key to knowing which desires to pursue: we need to fear the Lord. To fear God is not likened to being afraid of a burglar or a dog. To fear the Lord means to revere Him, to stand in awe of Him.

Yet how can we be awestruck by a God we do not know?

If your desire to know God on a deeper level has waned, let Him steer you back on course:

·      Ask God to show you what stands in the way of your desire for Him. You may have accepted Christ as your Savior and believe His Spirit is living in and through you, but not fully surrendered everything in your life to the Lord.

·      Ask God to re-structure your priorities. Sometimes our lives get off track because our focus gets off track. Have demands in the workplace, home, or some other arena led to a shift in your attention to God?

·      Ask God to create a deep desire in you for more of Him. Matthew 5:6 says, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied." As your desire to know God increases, selfish desires will pale in comparison.

·      Ask God to give you an intense aversion to the things of the world. The enemy will tempt you with worldly charms, but God's power within you is greater than what the world has to offer. (John 16:33)

·      Ask God to give you a love for His Word. God's Word always awaits you with truth about God's character, about your identity in Christ, and much more. As you study and meditate on it, your understanding and faith will grow-enabling you to live out God's best for your life.

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