The fight of faith is the fight to stay satisfied with God. “By faith Moses. . . forsook the fleeting pleasures of sin ... He looked to the reward” (Heb 11:24-26). Faith is not content with “fleeting pleasures.” It is ravenous for joy. And the Word of God says, “In God’s presence is fullness of joy, and in his right hand are pleasures for evermore” (Psalm 16:11). So faith will not be sidetracked into sin. It will not give up so easily in its quest for maximum joy.The role of God’s Word is to feed faith’s appetite for God. And in doing this it weans my heart away from the deceptive taste of lust. At first lust begins to trick me into feeling that I would really miss out on some great satisfaction if I followed the path of purity. But then I take up the sword of the Spirit and begin to fight. I read that it is better to gouge out my eye than to lust (Matt 5:29). I read that if I think about things that are pure and lovely and excellent the peace of God will be with me (Phil 4:8). I read that setting the mind on the flesh brings death, but setting the mind on the Spirit brings life and peace (Rom 8:6).
And as I pray for my faith to be satisfied with God’s life and peace, the sword of the Spirit carves the sugar coating off the poison of lust. I see it for what it is. And by the grace of God, its alluring power is broken.
The challenge before us then is not merely to do what God says because He is God, but to desire what God says because he is good. The challenge is not merely to pursue righteousness, but to prefer righteousness. The challenge is to get up in the morning and prayerfully meditate on the Scriptures until we experience joy and peace in believing “the precious and very great promises” of God (Rom 15:13; 2 Peter 1:4). With this joy set before us the commandments of God will not be burdensome (1 John 5:3) and the compensation of sin will appear too brief and too shallow to lure us.
--John Piper (source)
Excellent post, even if they were not your words I could sense your heart in the post.
ReplyDeleteAh Kaysie - I was thinking on this exact subject [with more than a little self-reproach] on my drive home today from work. I am so ashamed of some of the actions of my past, and they can't be changed...
ReplyDeleteAnd I also thought - while I was focusing my agenda on the will of God for me, the time just slipped past as if the days were hours....but while I was trying to get God on board with my agenda, the hours were like days and I thought the months would NEVER end...
Kaysie, thank you so much for sharing these words from John Piper! I had an experience with this in my own heart just last night...it's no coincidence this morning that I should see this post. Thank you again, and thank you Lord for a dear sister in Christ who shares your truths though her blog ever so simply and clearly.
ReplyDeleteHave a wonderful Thursday!
~ Amy
Allen, thank you. :)
ReplyDeleteJillian, great thoughts. Making God the center solves our problems in one way or another. :)
Amy, you're welcome! Piper is simply inspiring. :) I love how God gives us exactly what we need in each moment. Thank you for your sweet encouragement. God bless!
Hey,thak you so much.
ReplyDeleteI've recently experienced this truth so profoundly in my heart and life and just this morning was sharing the same with my younger sister.
Nothing outside of God truly satisfies. Its amazing how we often as you said believe the lie that sin is sweeter than surrender to Gods will. we often act as though God is keeping some joy from us when in actual fact its when we obey that we find true joy.
For instance as someone said about sexual purity that 'God isnt keeping sex from us, but keeping it for us' .
Oh that God himself would 'bind our wandering hearts to him' and keep our eyes turned to Him for the highest joy.
Elijah, thank you for your comment. How very true it is that nothing can satisfy but Jesus Christ! It is also true that many people develop the mindset you described assuming that God is holding something back from us. The opposite it true. God is the ultimate satisfier -- and if our hearts are satisfied in Him, all His gifts are healthy and for good. :)
ReplyDeleteWonderful post, Kaysie!! Very inspiring and encouraging. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteWonderfin post, Kaysie! Very inspiring and encouraging. Thank you for sharing it!
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry that posted twice - There was a spelling error and then I tried to fix it... so sorry!!!!! :-z
ReplyDeleteHannah, you're welcome! Thank you for your comment(s). ;)
ReplyDelete