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Lust Of The Flesh

Often when we hear the statement, “Lust of the flesh” we usually gravitate towards sexual sins only, but lust is so much more than that. The word lust in the Geek is epithumia, and it means desire, eagerness for, inordinate desire and lust. The meaning is derived from two words epi – which means “focused on” and theymos which mean “passionate desire.” When put together we get the definition, “passion build on strong feelings (urges). These can be positive or negative, depending on whether the desire is inspired by faith (God’s in birthed persuasion).” From this break down of the word lust, we can see that the source of our focus will lead to our desires. So if we focus on the pressures of this life, images that are sensual, all that is going wrong we will eventually give into anxiety, frustration, sexual immorality, etc. In the same way, if we stay focused on the promises of God like, “My God will supply all my needs” (Philippians 4:19) when financial problems arise we are guaranteed peace and assurance. This is just one example, but God’s word has a promise for every situation that may arise in your life. Seek that promise and make sure you keep your mind governed by that word.

The enemy of our soul will continue to look for opportunities to inject the world system into our lives by convincing us that what we want is always “good for us” and know that God’s word and instructions are more powerful every time to counteract it. I have heard John Bevere say, “Not every good thing is a God thing.” Throughout scriptures from the very beginning, the enemy has used this system until Jesus came and he even tried this same tactic on him but was defeated. Let us look at the lust of the flesh in operation in the lives of a few people in the Old Testament:

1. The enemy approached Eve in the garden and appealed to her flesh by lying to her saying, “The tree was good for food”- (Genesis 3:6a NIV).
2. The enemy fed Sampson the lie that the Philistine woman from Timnah was good for him and he demanded his parents to get her for him as his wife. (Judges 14:2b NIV).
3. The enemy enticed King David to stay at home and be idle when it was a time for the kings to be at war. David got caught satisfying his lust by sleeping with another man’s wife named Bathsheba. (2 Samuel 11:4 NIV).

These are just a few examples to show how the lust of the flesh was in operation and again the enemy will always present it in a way to make us believe it is good for us.

Holy Spirit, please give me discernment when gratifying myself. Open up my eyes and mind to ask the question every single time, “Is this a good thing or is this a God thing, will this bring death in the end or will this lead me to live?” Thank you, Holy Spirit for your guidance.