We all struggle with habitual cravings
August 28, 2009
Daily Devotional, August 27th
Posted to Exodus 16:4 on Aug 21, 2009 at 11:12 AM
“Walk forward”
His father described him as down-to-earth, generous, kindhearted, life-loving, and unselfish. Maybe that’s why so many people were shocked when Australian-born actor Heath Ledger died of a prescription drug overdose. Before his death, Ledger was reportedly fighting an addiction to heroin.
We all struggle with habitual cravings—food, gambling, and porn are just a few of the things that can enslave us. Fortunately, God can free us, as surely as He released the Israelites from slave status in Egypt. But once He sets us free, He wants us to move forward.
A short time after the Israelites left Egypt, they developed an attitude. “Back in Egypt . . . we sat around pots filled with meat and ate all the bread we wanted” (Exodus 16:3), they whined. Shaky circumstances led them to idealize the “good ol’ days.” But that kind of backward thinking sabotages our efforts to move forward, following “the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives” (Galatians 5:25).
God wants us to keep taking steps of faith—believing that He will provide what we need each day. When the Israelites realized that their new zip code didn’t include any grocery stores, God said, No biggie. I’ll send some manna their way—“as much food as they need for that day” (Exodus 16:4). Similarly, we should live one day at a time, trusting God to provide an escape route from our selfish desires. God “will not allow the temptation to be more than [we] can stand” (1 Corinthians 10:13). When we’re tempted, He will show us a way out.
If God has shown you the escape hatch, don’t look back. Don’t “let sin control the way you live” (Romans 6:12). Instead, walk forward each day, trusting that “you will see the glory of the Lord” on your journey through the wilderness (Exodus 16:7). —Jennifer Benson Schuldt, Our Daily Journey
CLICK HERE to visit OurDailyJourney.org
Comments
Got something to say?