Day 33 – God’s Image-Bearers can Only be Satisfied in Him; Lust can Never Satisfy
Lust whispers lies, a fleeting thrill to chase. It sows discontentment with God’s good will and grace.
Begin with Prayer
Scripture and Reflection
Ephesians 5:3-6 –
3 But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. 4 Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. 5 For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.
Impurity or covetousness refers to a state of any form of lust or sexual immorality. It shouldn’t even be named among Christians. This includes homosexuality or same-sex attraction, for these are the root of lust, produced by the flesh not the Spirit.
Paul says the remedy for lust is thanksgiving. Why? Because jealousy and discontentment are inherent in lust. To lust, you must not be thankful for God. You’re jealous of Him, thinking you know better and have better use for creation than He designed. You’re also discontent with what God has given you in this life. If you’re married, you’re not thankful for your spouse, so you lust. If you’re single, you’re not thankful for the singleness God has given you, so you lust.
The remedy is to be satisfied with God and His providence. If you’re thankful, you won’t lust. If you lack thankfulness, you must cultivate it through,
1) Worshipping God with other Christians in a local church.
2) Hearing, reading, believing, singing, and meditating on His word.
3) Praying to Him in faith.
His beauty is of infinite worth, and He created us; therefore, we should be satisfied with Him. Our gratitude for Him should never cease or decrease, and we should know that reflecting His image is the greatest good we could possibly pursue.
Colossians 3:1-10 –
If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming. 7 In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. 8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.
Romans 8:12-13 – 12 So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
Romans 12:1-2 –
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Having been raised with Christ, we must long to be in Heaven with Him. We must set our minds on Him and the eternal life He has provided for us. We have died with Christ and have been raised to life in Him, that where He is, we may be also. When He returns, we will also be with Him in glory. This glorious truth should shape our affections in such a way that lust becomes unthinkable to us, something that is beneath us. It’s part of the old man, not the new one who has been born again in Christ.
Because we’re united to Christ in His death, resurrection, ascension, and exaltation, we must put to death what is fleshly in us, what is earthly not heavenly: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, covetousness, which is idolatry. God’s wrath is coming upon people and the world because of these sins. We will escape because of our union with Christ, but we should live according to who we are in Him not who we were. We used to live for lust before we were united to Christ; now, we must live for Christ from our hearts, because He is our life, and we have left sin and death behind, have put on Christ, and are being conformed to His image.
We owe our lives to God not our lusts. Christ has freed us from the power of sin, and His Spirit empowers us to live for Him. We must sacrifice our fleshly desires, and instead, be transformed by the renewing of our minds through reading, receiving, and believing His word.
Application
When you lust, you show that your heart is not content with God or His good provisions. You’re jealous of Him, so you’re willing to twist His good creation, your own body and others, to fulfill your evil desires. But lust cannot satisfy you because you are God’s image-bearer and He is conforming you to the image of His Son Jesus Christ. Yet, lust wants to conform you to mirror an unbeliever who is dead in sin, who you used to be, but are no longer.
When you lust, you show that you’re focused on this temporary life not eternal life. You can’t aim at Jesus in Heaven at God’s right hand, and lust. God’s wrath will come upon the world for sins like impurity and covetousness, but as those born again in Christ, we’re too good for lust. You know and have experienced too much good, truth, and beauty in Christ, to lust, and you have even more waiting on you in eternity.
Today, will you be content with God’s design, His provisions for you, and how He’s governing all creation? Will you fix your eyes on Christ and Heaven in eternity, where you will be soon? Will you remind yourself that only God can satisfy you, and lust cannot? Will you pray often and hear, read, receive, and believe God’s word? By the Spirit, you can put lust to death today, but will you?
Marching Orders: Thinking God’s Thoughts After Him
Receive, believe, and live the truths you’ve read. Memorize and meditate on these truths today:
One Sentence to Shape Your Affections:
Since I am created in God’s image and I’m being conformed to Christ’s likeness, only God can satisfy me, not lust or any other sin.
One Poem to Shape Your Affections:
Lust whispers lies, a fleeting thrill to chase,
It sows discontentment with God’s good will and grace.
It twists His gifts, it clouds my heart and mind,
It short sights my eyes to lose vision of heaven’s kind.
Yet I, raised with Christ, am born anew,
Born again, I am God’s child, one of the few.
My heart, once dead, now seeks His holy face,
To live with Him in everlasting grace.
From fleshly desires I turn and depart,
Thanksgiving heals the jealous Christian heart.
In worship, prayer, and the word I find,
A transformed life, a pure and renewed mind.
Christ has won, and I’m in Him,
While God’s wrath comes for the world’s sin.
No debt to lust, but to Jesus alone I owe,
A life of love, a rushing river to overflow.
So, fix your eyes on Christ enthroned above,
His beauty, His truth, His everlasting love.
Content in Him, my lust will fade and dim,
As I live for Heaven, forever united to Him.
One Song to Shape Your Affections:
Add this song to your playlist, “Gladly Would I Leave Behind Me.”
On YouTube,
By Sovereign Grace Music (Written by Ann Griffiths, Doug Plank)
1. Gladly would I leave behind me
All the pleasure I have known
To pursue surpassing treasures
At the throne of God the Son
Worthy of unending worship
Love and loveliness is He
By His precious death were millions
From the jaws of death set free
[Due to copyright laws, I cannot include the rest of the lyrics here, but they are included in the above video.]
End with Prayer