Today's Dare
End it now. Identify every object of lust in your life and remove it. Single out every lie you've swallowed in pursuing forbidden pleasure and reject it. Lust cannot be allowed to live in a back bedroom. It must be killed and destroyed - today - and replaced with the sure promises of God and a heart filled with His perfect love.We live in a world where everything is handed to us easily. We have learned to have this sense of entitlement and think we deserve to have bigger and better all the time. We also have grown accustomed to instant gratification. All of these things are a deadly combination for lust.
When we think of lust, the first thing that pops into our heads is lusting after another person, to desire someone, but it goes waaaay beyond that. We lust after desires of wanting more. Seeking worldly desires instead of Gods desires for us. There is nothing wrong with wanting things, but when they take your focus off of Gods work and desire in your life, then it's a problem.
We can have lust for many things. Other people, a bigger house, a more expensive car, the newest phone, a bigger TV, expensive jewelry, the newest gadgets or even spoiling our kids with the best new toys all the time.
My biggest weakness in lusting has been my longtime passion for fashion! I worked in LA as a model for 8 years and loved the attention it brought with it. I was also a manager and assistant buyer of a women's boutique there as well and soon had a huge collection of super trendy, beautiful clothing! That addiction carried out for along time and as a woman that loves fashion, it's a hard one to break. I lusted after what other women had and I wanted it, so I got it! I had no one at the time keeping me accountable for putting my desires ahead of my responsibilities and I got myself into trouble financially because of it. I was irresponsible and to this day it's something I still fight, but I much better now than I was. I only started being convicted about this when my husband and I got married. I still had my bad shopping habits and it didn't help that I started working at another women's clothing store. After I quit that job, I really realized how much stuff I had that I didn't "need". It was all desires! The other girls had it, so I wanted it too, I rationalized my actions by thinking I earned it and deserved it, that was the mindset that made my husband and I argue about that topic over and over again everytime I brought a shopping bag home. It's taken a couple years for me to fully grasp what I was doing was wrong. I have even been guilty of lusting after other women's wedding rings, thinking mine wasn't big enough compared to other girls. That I deserved an upgrade sometime. Thinking that my husbands love for me has to be shown through how big my ring is (which a lot of people think the same way obviously, because of celebrities flashing their million dollar huge rocks on their little tiny fingers!). This is such a ridiculous, worldly view that it makes me sick to think that way...but only through me having to be completely stripped of everything have i gotten better and having to refrain from buying everything I want. If it's an item I need that comes up, then I don't feel to bad about it. But I know so many other women with this same lust and addiction.
Society makes us think we deserve these things, WE DON'T!
There are other lusts that are more detrimental to marriages, like lusting after the opposite sex. Sometimes we don't realize we are doing harm to ourselves or our spouse. We live dangerously close to sin sometimes. "Flirting" with temptation, never intending to partake because we are strong willed and "not that kind of person". That is pride and ego. We are all weak and it only takes one mistake to spiral out of control. We slowly move closer and closer until the temptation takes over. When our faith is weak is when we give into sin.
We cannot flirt with sin! We cannot be near it and need to stay as far away from it as possible. But we can't do it on our strength, we need Gods strength to fight the battles of sin that the world throws at us everyday.
The chapter said something that hit hard for me. It said, "Its time to expose lust for what it really is- a misguided thirst of satisfaction that only God can fulfill."
We all deal with lust in some form in our lives. My hope is that as you read this, you are convicted as much as I am. Look up to The Lord to fulfill your needs and help you through it. He will ALWAYS give us what we need...
Bible verses on lust:
-"We have brought nothing into this world, so we cannot take anything out of it
either." (1 Timothy 6:7)
-"But these who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction." (1Timothy 6:9)
-"Joseph was well built and handsome, and after a while his masters wife took notice of Joseph and said, "Come to bed with me!" (Genesis 39:6-7)
-" This is what The Lord says to me with his strong hand upon me, warning me not to follow the ways of these people" (Isaiah 8:11)
-"No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it." (1Corinthians 10:13)
http://www.klove.com/blog/post/2010/01/29/Love-Dare-Day-24.aspx
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