WHEN HE GIVES YOU WHAT YOU CRAVE. Romans 1:24-28.

Posted bySteven WalesPosted inWhen God Gives Them Up... to their own desiresTags:, , ,

Sometimes God gives people exactly what they ask for. Often He says no to our silliest, most immature prayers. Ticket sales prove that millions more hope to win the lottery than actually do. But sometimes when you push God long enough, He finally gives you what you have been foolishly craving. Like the proverbial father who catches his son smoking and then makes him smoke the whole pack to teach him a lesson, God seems to tire of our rebellion and gives us what we crave so we can discover that it is not satisfying.

When the people of Israel tired of manna and demanded Moses give them meat, God saw their rebellion and gave them quail three feet deep throughout the camp. “No one gathered less than 62 bushels … but while the meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, the anger of the Lord burned against the people, and the Lord struck them with a severe plague” Numbers 11:32-33.

Paul discusses this in Romans 1. When God’s people chose idols over faith,

“God GAVE THEM UP to vile impurity in the lusts of their hearts, so that their bodies would be degraded because they exchanged the truth of God for a lie. For this reason, God GAVE THEM UP to degrading passions…. And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge or worship God, God GAVE THEM UP to a depraved mind, to do the things that are not proper” Romans 1:24-28.

We must obey God even when we don’t understand His rules.

We must stifle the independence and pride and rebellion that makes us do things our own way. We must seek God humbly. Don’t be an idol worshiper. Don’t crave what you don’t have. Release your desires, your passions, your deep longings. The fact that you long for something does not mean it is what is best for you. God knows what is best. Submit to Him. Don’t give him any reason to give up on you and turn you over to your own lusts.

Dear God, fill us with love for you and humble worship and faithfulness. Help us to honor you every day, and to yield to you our own desires. Change our desires and make us people who honor you with wisdom and discipline every day.

ΑΩ

Published by Steven Wales

Dad's Daily Devotional began as text messages to my family. I wanted my teenagers to know their father was reading the Bible. But they were at school by then. Initially, I sent them a favorite verse or an insight based on what I read each day. That grew into drafting a devotional readng which I would send them via text. I work as an attorney and an adjunct professor, and recently wrote a book called HOW TO MAKE A'S.

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