Cravings Don’t Like Stoplights

“We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good.”-Romans 7:14-16

My family and I ate at Applebee’s the other night, thanks to a dear lady from church, we had a delicious meal! I’m not sure if it was because it was a late meal, so anything would taste good, or it was really that good?!

Although the food was good, that wasn’t the highlight of meal. Applebee’s has done a total overhaul on their brand in the past couple years and their bags have some new artwork on them.

On the bottom of our bag, there was a phrase that caught my eye:

“Cravings Don’t Like Stoplights”

I instantly thought of my life as a follower of Christ and went straight to the sacrifices I need to make in order to maintain a healthy relationship with my Savior.

Then, there’s us collectively as the body of Christ and our call to live in such a way that we honor God in all that we do.

Our sinful nature tries to call us to move against our God. Our sinful nature beckons us to push our Savior aside in order to satisfy our “cravings” and appease our appetites for destructive behaviors or actions.

Our selfish desire will cause a battle within against the Spirit. The Spirit speaks clearly to us, although quietly, He speaks to us guiding our steps. The quiet voice is sharing wisdom and our selfishness is screaming foolishness!

When we are about to move towards an action that will pull us down and distract us from the wisdom of Scripture, we need to listen to the warnings that flash within. The war will ensue. The struggle will become more apparent because we will be fighting against what we want to do when we know what we should do.

The stoplights that Jesus throws up for us cause our sinful cravings to get in an uproar. In fact, they tend to become stronger than ever. Our sinful nature wants to prove that we are still independent and we can do whatever we want. Our sinful nature is moving us away from where we need to be.

FOCUS!

The stoplights are ahead, slow down. Focus on the truth of Christ. Focus on what He has done to redeem us from the sin we face. We need to recognize our humanity and our limitations. We need to listen for the guidance of the Spirit and move towards Him.

Sin will always come calling and our appetite will try to get the best of us, but we need to rest in God’s will power. He is the One that will give us the strength to stand against the struggle. He is the One that will win the war.

We cannot do this on our own.

Our cravings will hate us for stopping, but in the end our appetite will go towards what we know is righteous.

When we seek to live a faithful life our humanity will resist what is good, but if we are a new creation in Christ, then our soul will thirst for righteousness!

May we calm the grumbling of sinful cravings by resting in the stillness of God’s righteousness.

May we strive to live a life of healthy connection with Christ and make a great effort to withstand our desires indulge in depravity.

Our cravings hate stoplights, but our God loves it when we wait to hear His voice before we go.

Peace and blessings friends.

QUESTION: Do you turn to Scripture or prayer when you feel the desire to sin?