My Earnest Desire
- Mara Petro
- Jul 19
- 6 min read
One Thing
Do you have interests that you would love to pursue more, but you lack the time, skills, or resources to do so? Some people say that if you really want to do something, you will find a way, and I believe that’s true to an extent. However, I also understand that circumstances can sometimes impede our desires.
For example, I have always loved riding horses. When I was growing up, I had an Arabian/Appaloosa named Tammy. She was a beautiful strawberry roan, with three white socks, a white blaze, and a speckled rump. I loved her so much. She was my best friend. I spent all my free time riding her around our small town. We went everywhere together; the Dime Store, the Taco Bell drive-thru, we swam in the local pond, and competed in barrel racing at the neighborhood rodeo. I miss Tammy. I wish I could have a horse again. If I could, I would go riding every day. But I don't have the money to buy a horse, nor the space to keep one.
Despite our strong desire for something, practical limitations can prevent us from achieving it. I’m okay with that because I trust God is sovereign in all circumstances. If He wanted me to have a horse again, He would provide the means. I have the occasional opportunity to ride other people’s horses, for which I am very grateful. But I will always dream of having a horse again. I love them so much that I even enjoy shoveling their stalls. Am I the only one who feels that way?
Another one of my interests is writing. I thoroughly enjoy it and do it regularly, but it’s rarely seen by anyone because I don't think it’s very good. I struggle to find time outside of work, ministry, and family to nurture and develop better writing skills, so I don’t write as often as I would like, and what is written rarely gets published. I also think it’s not as interesting to others as it is to me. Perhaps it’s meant just for me, but I often feel compelled to share it, so I do.
Today, I found the motivation and time to share my inspiration for writing.
Exodus 34:27: God tells Moses, "Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel."
Deuteronomy 6:9: "Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates." (speaking of God's Words)
Isaiah 30:8: "Go now, write it on a tablet for them, inscribe it on a scroll, that for the days to come it may be an everlasting witness." (speaking of the vision that God gave him)
Jeremiah 30:2: "Write in a book all the words I have spoken to you."
Revelation 1:11: Jesus commands John to "write what you see in a book."
My favorite of those is Deuteronomy 6, especially with verses 4-8, which say:
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”
I love that so much. I took that passage seriously when I was raising my son Zach and even more seriously today.
Throughout the Bible, God calls His people to write, speak, and remember His commands and to obey them because they are good for us. When we obey, we receive blessings. When we disobey, we receive curses.
God’s commands are guardrails for us, to protect us from going the wrong way and to keep the enemy at bay. His commands are given to equip us to be a people who bless the family and community in which we live, but we are stubborn sheep who easily and often forget God. In His grace and mercy, He reminds us over and over again to trust and obey His Word.
I love that God loves us that much. I’m so grateful for His patience and long suffering. I love Jesus for saving me and forgiving me all my sins and all the times I strayed from His commands. I can’t help but share what I learn from the Bible to encourage others in their walk with Jesus and to warn those who are drifting away from God, as I once did.
That’s why I write. I want to be used by the Lord to help people come to know our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, so they can experience His goodness and grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ. This is why God made us; this is why we are here.
My earnest desire is to have what King David asked for in Psalm 27:4:
“One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.”
To be with the Lord all the days of my life, to share the gospel of Jesus Christ, and to tell others how God has redeemed me from the hand of the enemy—that’s what I want most. And what’s amazing is, God wants that for me, too, so I have it. That’s the only desire guaranteed to be fulfilled. It’s what God wants for all those who believe and trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior.
I didn’t come to this passionate belief overnight, though. It took years for God to perform this work in me. It took being sifted as wheat, failing, falling, and being restored.
One significant way I have grown in faith and in love of God over the years is by reading the Bible every day. My best friend, Carol, gifted me with a One Year Bible in 1998. It takes you through the entire Bible in one year, with daily passages from the Old Testament, New Testament, a Psalm, and a Proverb. Although I haven't read it consistently every year, I have read the entire Bible more times than I remember. When I'm not reading the One Year Bible, I read a specific book of the Bible or do a Bible study. Either way, I make every effort to read or listen to the Word of God every day.
This habit has profoundly shaped me into the person I am today. It has provided me with wisdom, understanding, and peace, which significantly impacts my attitude and perspective in every circumstance of life. No matter what the day holds, I know God holds me. I know He’s in control, I trust His Word to guide me, and all is well with my soul.
Here are a few passages to encourage your Bible reading:
Psalm 16:11 – You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Psalm 119:105 – Your word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
Hebrews 4:12 – The word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
2 Timothy 2:15 – Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.
2 Timothy 3:15-17 – The Holy Scriptures…are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, fully equipped for every good work.
That’s the blessed reality of reading the Bible. I am living proof of its transformative power. Although I haven’t always been faithful to the Lord or His Word, He has always been faithful to me. Through my years of Bible study, I have gained a deeper understanding of Jesus and the purpose for which God created me. His Word convicts me of my sins and causes me to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus. I am forever grateful for God’s steadfast love, His enduring and inerrant Word, and His mercies that are new every morning.
Thank you for reading. I pray you are inspired by God’s Word and my story to draw close to Jesus, to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and come to believe that Jesus is enough—you don’t need anything or anyone more than you need Jesus.
“And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
Colossians 3:15-17
Abundant blessings in Christ,
Mara Petro
Redeemed to bear witness to God's glory.
