Overcoming LustSample

Eating Better Food

Once, I got home at midnight after a particularly long day at work, and my wife and kids had long since gone to bed. I had skipped dinner and was starving, but it was the last day of the week before we did our weekly grocery shop, so it was slim pickings in the fridge and cupboards to find a snack before I went to bed.

Ultimately, I had a few stale Triscuit crackers, a couple of green olives, a Slim Jim, and some grapes. Not exactly a wholesome or even tasty meal. Olives and grapes are a poor combo.

When we’re starving, anything looks good to eat. Whether it’s delicious or healthy is secondary to the instinct of simply trying to fill that hungry void within us.

So it is with our lust. We know those thoughts aren’t good. We know the actions that those thoughts can lead to aren’t good. But we are looking to fill a void, and lust is an easy meal to get us there.

At the risk of sounding cliché, Jesus is a better and healthier solution. His Word and His Spirit fill every need in a much more profound and fulfilling way. He is the Bread of Life that fills our deepest hunger (John 6:35), and His Spirit is the Living Water that forever quenches our deepest thirst (John 4:13-14).

We seek more of Him, asking Him to change us, fulfill us, and do His healing work within us.

We lean on practical tools like confession, accountability, and wise boundaries, but we don’t stop there. We can’t get better without these tools, but those tools alone can’t do it.

We ultimately seek to become the new creation Jesus promised to make us (2 Corinthians 5:17-18). We ultimately desire to gain control not just of our actions but of our thoughts, too (2 Corinthians 10:5).

As we use the practical tools in our hands and seek more of the Lord, we find that He does indeed change us. Lust is not an easy thing to overcome, but as we are faithful, day by day, and as we seek Him, day by day, and as we receive more of His Word and His Spirit, day by day, we will find ourselves in a different and better place.

Lust does not define a man, and it is not insurmountable. Find someone you trust and begin the journey of pursuing freedom because of who Jesus is, what He has done, and what He is going to do in your life.

Prayer: Lord, meet every need in my soul. Set me free from the cheap substitute of lust and its actions. Make me completely whole and holy in You. Amen.

Reflection: What is your biggest takeaway from this week of devotionals? What makes that idea so profound for you right now?