As an educator for most of my adult life, I am interested in how people learn. In the early years of the Head Start program, a study was conducted involving sixteen hundred children who were tested in a wide variety of categories, including divergent thinking. Convergent thinking is the ability to correctly answer a question that doesn’t require creativity, just analytical intelligence. Divergent thinking is a very different animal. It’s the ability to generate creative ideas by exploring possible solutions.

When asked to come up with as many uses for a paper clip as possible, the average person can rattle off ten to fifteen uses. A divergent thinker can come up with about two hundred. Both convergent and divergent thinking are critical for different kinds of tasks, but divergent thinking is a better predictor of Nobel Prize potential.

In the longitudinal study conducted by Head Start, 98 percent of children ages three to five “scored in the genius category for divergent thinking. Five years later . . . this number had plummeted to only 32 percent. . . . Five years later again . . . it was down to 10 percent.”

What happened during that decade? Where did divergent thinking go? And what does that have to do with the language of desires?

When the younger children were tested on the uses of the paper clip, for example, their first question was, "How big can it be?" WOW!  Did that cross your mind when you read what I wrote about a paper clip above?

Here’s my take: most of us lose touch with the God-given creativity, the God-ordained potential He has given us, who we really are and what we really want, and we allow others to decide the parameters of our thinking. Instead of following our God-given desires in the direction of impacting others, the voice of creativity in the Lord is drowned out by the voice of conformity to memorizing boring (yawn) facts to pass a test.

And it may start the day you wear a pink shirt to junior high (just kidding).

We worry way too much about what people think, which is evidence that we don’t worry enough about what God thinks. It’s the fear of people that keeps us from hearing and heeding the voice of God. We let the expectations of others override the desires God has put in our hearts. The net result? Those desires get buried about six feet deep. Eventually, we forget who God created us to be.

One of the most thought-provoking questions in the Gospels is found when John and James approached Jesus:

“Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.” “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.” (Mark 10:35–36, NIV)

In one sense the question seems unnecessary because Jesus asks the question of a blind man. We can all guess his answer, right? He wants his sight, of course. So why does Jesus ask the question?

The answer is simple: Jesus wants to know what we want.

If Jesus were to ask the average person walking into the average church or walking down the average street, “What do you want Me to do for you?” I’d bet nine out of ten would have a hard time answering that question.

Why? Because we’re out of touch with what we really want.

If you don’t know what you want, how are you going to know when you get it?

Maybe it’s time to take inventory. What do you want God to do for you?

You owe it to Him to answer that question.

“Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.” “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.” (Mark 10:35–36, NIV)

• What do you want God to do for you?
• Well, what is it?
• Now, ask Him to do it for you!
• “You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God.” (James 4:2, NIV)

Rejoicing, On the Victory Side!

Beau