Perhaps you have strong feelings for someone. But are those feelings coming from God, or is Satan trying to lead you down a wayward path?
As you walk down the road, you can usually tell whether God is leading or Satan. But who wants to fall into sin before realizing a desire was not from God but rather a temptation from Satan? You might also realize a desire was from God once you miss a good opportunity. But who wants to miss open doors because they doubt whether a desire is good?
Therefore, in the early stages, before major decisions are made that will have either good or bad consequences, we need methods for discerning which desires are truly from God and which are just temptations from Satan. Here are 6 signs to look for.
1. A Desire from God Will Appeal to Your New Heart. A Temptation from Satan Will Appeal to Your Old Heart
Whenever the human heart is brought up, Christians usually think of Jeremiah 17:9, which states, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” That’s a pretty clear warning. Thus, you might conclude, “Never trust your heart!”
If you mean you should never trust your “old heart,” then amen! Never trust it! But in Scripture, it’s clear that when God saves us through Jesus and puts his Spirit in us, he actually gives us a new heart.
- Ezekiel 36:26, “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”
- Jeremiah 24:7, “I will give them a heart to know that I am the Lord, and they shall be my people and I will be their God, for they shall return to me with their whole heart.”
- Hebrews 10:22, “. . . let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.”
Thus, we must use biblical discernment to know which heart is seeking control. In other words, as Christians, we now have two natures. We have a new nature in Christ. This means we have good desires that please God. And yet, the old nature still remains in our bodies. And it produces evil desires that are displeasing to God.
Satan doesn’t literally give you a desire to do bad. Rather, Satan appeals to the sinful desires that are already in your old heart and sinful nature.
Therefore, one way to really know if a desire is from God or is a temptation from Satan is to learn to decipher when your new or old nature is seeking control of your body. Read passages like Romans 6-8. You will see that the new nature wants to please God while the old nature wants to please the flesh.
2. A Desire from God Will Be Biblically Categorized as Good. A Temptation from Satan Will Be Biblically Categorized as Evil
Sometimes Christians are so worried about sinning that they become more sensitive than is helpful. In other words, instead of walking in step with the Spirit and obeying his loving conviction of sin, they start looking for sin in every desire they have.
For example, when it comes to romantic desires, many Christians instantly feel guilty as soon as they realize they may like someone. They fear that they are idolizing this person. They assume lust is the only reason they have these feelings. Or they may have an imbalance need for supernatural confirmation; otherwise, if there’s not a clear sign from God, they assume he’s saying no.
But notice that in Scripture, the desire to be married is classified as good (Genesis 2:18, 1 Corinthians 7:7, Proverbs 18:22). And while sexual desires can certainly be used in lustful ways, Scripture is clear that God wants a man and woman to desire each other sexually in marriage (Proverbs 5:18-19). And while we should seek the Lord’s leading, there’s a difference between hearing a no and not hearing anything. In many instances, God isn’t going to tell you exactly what to do because he wants you to be a real human, and free will is required to be a real human (Genesis 2:19).
However, in many other cases, the Bible clearly states what is wrong. For example, if you have a desire to get into a relationship with an unbeliever, you know that is a temptation from Satan because God has already clearly said not to be unequally yoked (2 Corinthians 6:14). If you have a desire to experience sexual pleasure outside of marriage, you know that is not from God (1 Corinthians 6:18). If you sense a clear no from God but you are being tempted to pretend like you are hearing a yes, this is called being stubborn in the Bible (Psalm 81:11-13).
Thus, whenever possible, research the Scriptures to see if this desire has already been clearly named as either good or bad.
3. A Desire from God Will Require His Power to Fulfill. A Temptation from Satan Can Be Fulfilled in Your Own Power
Philippians 2:13 states, “. . . for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” When God gives you a desire, he will also give you the power to fulfill that desire.
However, when you’re being tempted by Satan, the Spirit will never help you. You will have to fulfill that kind of desire completely on your own. John 15:5, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” Obviously, Jesus doesn’t mean you can’t literally do anything without being in him. Rather, he’s saying we can’t do anything good without him. All we can do on our own is sin.
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.”
4. A Desire from God Will Benefit Other People. A Temptation from Satan Will Hurt Other People
Sometimes we forget that to glorify and love God, our actions must benefit other people. While we should examine ourselves, it’s not right to be solely inwardly focused. By examining what effect the fulfillment of this desire will have on other people, you will gain a lot of insight on where this desire is coming from. 1 John 4:20-21 states:
If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.”
5. A Desire from God Will Lead to Holy Thoughts. A Temptation from Satan Will Lead to Unholy Thoughts
The heart, body, and mind are all interconnected. Thus, if you want to know if a desire is coming from your good heart in Christ or if it’s coming from the old heart in the flesh, it can be really helpful to also examine what types of thoughts these desires are producing in you. As Romans 8:5-8 states:
For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”
For example, if you really like a guy but it’s making you think about how much superior you will feel over other people once you have a boyfriend, that is the flesh. If you really like a woman, but it’s causing you to have wild fantasies about her, that is the flesh.
Of course, you could just need to repent of these sins and the desire could be healthy still. But nonetheless, examine your thought life. It will tell you a lot about whether this desire is from God or a temptation from Satan.
6. A Desire from God Will Lead You Closer to God. A Temptation from Satan Will Lead You Further Away from God
When in doubt, always come back to your relationship with God. Your connection with him is the most important thing in your life. Thus, whenever a desire would hurt and not help your relationship with the Lord, you know that it is Satan tempting you.
When God gives you a desire, whether that be a romantic desire for someone or some other desire in life, it will always, in the end, be about him. Everything we do, including our relationships, is meant to bring glory to God (1 Corinthians 10:31).
