Detox Your Desires To Align With God’s Will

Living a holy life for God in the face of temptation became that much more attainable for me when I understood this one truth about temptation that honestly most Christians don’t get. I’m sharing what that truth is in this video. So if you’re struggling in the tension trying to live for God and battling your flesh at the same time, (I’m going to assume that’s all of us) this video is for you and for us. Enjoy! 

I think that sometimes, we get stuck falling into temptation because we don’t really understand how temptation works. We think that we need to focus on the behavior and just stop doing the thing, but how many times have you tried that only to find yourself back in the same cycle of sin over and over again? But as we look at the scriptures, we’ll see that they revealed to us the root of all temptation. If we can get a hold of that, we will better prepare ourselves to be able to live the Godly, holy lives that God is calling us to because God is not going to call us to do something that He hasn’t empowered us to do. 

In today’s video, we’ll learn:

•  🛠️ How temptation really works to create space between us and God
•  🛡️ How to navigate the tensions between being saved, yet still fighting our flesh
•  ✨ What the true root of all temptation is, so we can overcome to live the holy lives God is calling us to live. 

But first, I need you to understand that how you think about temptation matters. If the enemy can get into your head and make you think you’ll always be stuck in this cycle, you’ll never be better, and you’ll never get out of this; there’s a very good chance that you won’t. So it really comes down to understanding and truly believing that not only can God set me free, but that He will. Galatians 5:1 says:

“For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” (Galatians 5:1 ESV)

The very reason that Jesus came and died on the cross is so that we could be free and not live in bondage to the things that tempt us every single day. Now, sometimes I think we get confused because we think now that I’m saved, I’m now supposed to automatically be able to live this holy life. But even the apostle Paul tells us that he struggled in his flesh. In Romans 7, he shares that he doesn’t do what he wants to do, but what he hates to do, but the desire to do what is right, but struggling with the ability to actually do it. His flesh desires to sin, while his inner being delights in God’s ways. His conclusion is that even though his flesh desires to serve sin, he glorifies God because now he also has a mind that serves God. 

When you are first saved by Christ, you’re justified. That means you are now in right relationship with God and that your sins are covered and will not lead to death because they have been forgiven and you have life in Christ. When we die, we will be resurrected as Christ was because the Holy Spirit is in us as God‘s deposit, and He will come back to get what is His. 

So when we’re saved, we’re justified. When we die, and we are resurrected, we will be glorified.

But right here on earth, right now, in the tension between the two, we are being sanctified. This is the process of us still being in this flesh, and yet at the same time, being molded into the likeness of Christ. So this is why we can be tempted. Our souls want to do the right thing, but our flesh does not, and the two are constantly at war. Romans 8:6 tells us:

“For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.” (Romans 8:6 ESV)

If you feed the flesh, and do what the flesh wants, you will be ushered into sin, but if you feed the spirit, you will do what is right.  How do we feed the spirit? We feed the spirit, the truth, and the word of God. And not only that, we practice what the truth tells us to do. That’s how we activate the power of the Spirit in our lives. We make a practice of doing what God’s Word says to embody God's truth. That’s how we feed the spirit; to do what God will so that we become more like Christ. 

As we’re in this tension between our flesh and the spirit, what’s the root of our temptation? It’s not the behavior itself. James 1:14 tells us:

“But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.” (James 1:14 ESV)

Practicing spiritual disciplines does feed our spirit, but the root of all temptation has to do with the desire of our heart. Simply put, what do you want, and more importantly, how are you going about to fulfill that desire? 

Oftentimes, our falling into temptation isn’t only because of the desires we have, but because we’ve misplaced those desires. 

So maybe a desire to be provided for leads to stealing, or a desire to feel significant leads to pride, or a desire to be appreciated leads to having premarital sex. Those desires aren’t wrong, but when we try to fulfill those desires outside of God, we sin. 

Now the trick of temptation, is we’ll be convinced to search for something that we already have. Significance, protection, purpose, and provision are all provided to us by God. In Matthew Chapter 6, Jesus tells us we shouldn't worry about those things because God, as our Father and us as his children, knows what we need and that He will provide it for us. Jesus says it's the pagans or those who are not a part of God's family that worry about those things. 

Jesus didn't fall into temptation when the enemy tried to tempt him in the wilderness because Jesus knew who He was and, two, He knew what He already had. The enemy will try to pervert or twist what's good in order to get you to sin and not trust God because all sin is a lack of faith in God. Jesus didn't need to bow down to the enemy to get all the kingdoms of the world because He knew that once he rose again, all authority in both Heaven and Earth would be granted to Him. The enemy will use the desires that we have to get us to rush or to get us to fulfill those desires in an unhealthy, sinful way. But when we trust God with the desires of our heart and His ability to fulfill and provide, the enemy loses leverage. 

When you trust that your Heavenly Father has everything that you're looking for, it's going to be much harder for you to fall into temptation because you know that all of your desires are met in Christ. In Matthew 5:6, Jesus says:

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” (Matthew 5:6 ESV)

Have you ever experienced the shock and surprise of eating food only for it to not taste as you expected? You expected your coffee to be hot, but it was cold or you wanted something savory, but it was bitter instead? Unmet expectations tend to leave us frustrated and unsatisfied.

Our souls experience a similar dissatisfaction when we try to fill spiritual cravings with physical means.  

Often, we’re tempted to look for fulfillment in material gains, satisfying our flesh, or acquiring the approval of others, but Jesus tells us true gratification is found in desiring God because God is the only source that can completely fill our souls.

The artificial happiness encouraged by the world is determined by what we do or achieve, but the joy offered in the Kingdom of God is determined by what we desire. 

It’s not the striving of our hands that leads to blessing, but the desire of our hearts and how we seek to fulfill those desires.

When our desires are founded on the misconception that our souls can find fulfillment apart from the Maker of our souls, we will only find ourselves discouraged from believing empty promises. But when we desire what God wants for us, we won’t be let down. Instead, we will experience the blessing of sincere satisfaction in Christ.

Our desire is what we want, and as believers, it is in our best interest to cultivate lives that encourage a desire, a thirst, and a desperation for God. How do we do that first? We have to look at God. David, in the Psalms says that it is his desire to dwell upon the beauty of the Lord in Psalm 27. He’s known as a man after God‘s own heart, because his heart desired God. He wanted God because he saw that God was good. 

What are we to do when we don’t want God? First, we admit that, and we pray to God to change our hearts because He’s the only One who can change our hearts. 

But we must not be deceived. If we’re constantly looking at the world and the things of the world, and we’re convincing and telling ourselves that it’s more interesting, better, or fascinating and cultivate that FOMO, or fear of missing out, then we deceive ourselves. We need to look and behold God and know who He truly is in power, beauty, sovereignty, and love. When we’re on a quest to truly discover that every day of our lives, our hearts are changed and molded to want and desire Him. Psalm 37:4 says:

“Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” (Psalm 37:4 ESV)

Many people think that this verse means God will give us whatever we want, but that’s not what the scripture is saying. This scripture is a principle that means when we first delight in the Lord, we will then be granted the desires of our hearts. When we delight in God, our desires will be in alignment with His. It is in delighting in God that we reverence and honor Him, and our hearts desire Him. 

When we look to the Psalms, we learn a lot about the desires of our hearts and their relationship with growing our faith. So I encourage you to watch this video where I share more about Psalm 37:4 and how to trust God with the desires of your heart.

For more encouragement, download my free Bible Study called “Worry-Free” to learn the 3 lies feeding your worry and the truth to set you free at belovedwomen.org. Thanks for watching, and until next time, be beautiful, be blessed, and beloved.