As said by a colleague, a car is one of the “top three purchases” a person can make in life (along with a house and an education), and that’s why it’s normal for people to dream of owning one.
In the pursuit of these, some could spend their whole lives working long and hard for these grail machines, while others may have turned to God pleading with Him in their prayers. And yet, if God loves us, why doesn’t He give us what we want even if it’s good?
It’s not wrong to turn to Him in prayer, but we must understand who He is and what truly matters. God made all of creation, and ordained all of history that His holiness would be put on display and He would be worshipped for it. The Westminster Shorter Catechism says:
The chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.
However, because of sin, all people rebel against God with hatred toward Him, which is why we stand guilty deserving of eternal condemnation. In spite of that, He has provided salvation through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ for all those who repent of their sin and place their faith in Him.
We are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. But neglect not the underlying foundation—that everything God does is for His glory, not our earthly desires. Just because we believe in God and accept Jesus as Lord and Savior doesn’t mean He’s going to let us have our way.
The greatest blessing one can receive in this life is not acquiring one’s dream car or motorbike, but being saved from the entanglement of sin for a life set apart in holiness being conformed to the likeness of Christ. That is why when the Apostle Paul (or even Stephen Curry) said that…
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13)
…he didn’t mean that he could do anything he wanted just because of Christ.
Rather, he had learned true contentment whether in prosperity or in poverty because he knew he had been saved and set apart by God to live for His glory by preaching the Gospel even if it cost his freedom and his life.
In light of this, what God truly desires for us is not for our dreams to be achieved nor our wishes to be fulfilled, but that the ultimate delight of our hearts, minds, and souls should be Him and Him alone. That is only possible when we acknowledge our wickedness, humble ourselves, repent of our sins, and place our faith in Christ.
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