Desires

Friday, May 24

Desires

So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. Genesis 3:6

Desire is a great motivator, and God intended that it would be. It is a powerful God-given emotion that drives us to satisfy a need. Eve was not sinful to desire what looked good to eat, to satisfy her physical hunger, and to sustain her health and strength. Eve sinned when she gave into that desire and disobeyed God. God had provided for her need and gave her desire to take and eat the fruits of almost every tree in the garden of Eden. ‘And out of the ground the Lord God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food’ (Genesis 2:9).

But Eve’s desire became focused on something that God had forbidden her to eat. And once she allowed her desire to focus on this fruit, which looked so inviting, to satisfy what she thought she needed, a destructive downward spiral set in. The driving force of desire that God intended to motivate her toward what was good had become a destructive passion leading her toward evil, and as they say, “The rest is history!”

So, what does the Bible say about desires? Obviously, if God gave us the ability to feel desire, then it is intended for our good. However, when this God-given, driving, motivational force is focused wrongly it will lead us away from God and into sinful decisions, thoughts, or actions.

Think about desires focused on earthly riches (1 Timothy 6:5-10), desires for pleasure or sexual lust (James 4:1-3), and desires to own what rightly belongs to someone else (Exodus 20:17). These desires are destructive. No matter how much we feel they will satisfy a need, they will not. They are carnal desires. They feed only the flesh and destroy the spirit man. The inner need may be very real, but the focus is wrong, and these desires need to be shut down immediately! As God’s Word instructs us, we must put them to death (Colossians 3:5).

Today, be encouraged to take charge of your desires. God-given desires, when focused as God intended, are life-giving. Godly desires draw us toward Him and ignite a passion for His ways.

We have a choice before us. Will we continue in our carnality, allowing our earthly lusts and desires to dominate our focus? Or will we work, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to refocus our desires back to God? If we earnestly desire to follow God’s ways, let Him meet our needs, and trust Him for our future, we will experience the blessings of health, spiritual growth, and peace.

Prayer for today: Heavenly Father, I am so aware that I have sinned in the past by focusing on the wrong stud. Father, my focus has been on worldly things that I thought would meet my needs. Thank You for opening my eyes. Please forgive me for allowing my human desires to lead me away from You, and help me to put to death earthly desires when they often seem so powerful. Help me to always come to You with my perceived needs, and to rely on Your sufficiency. I pray I will increasingly develop a true desire and passion for Your ways. I ask it in Jesus’ name. Amen.