Desiring God As the Ultimate Source of Pleasure

In part one of this post (The Battle Against Lust and How to Kill It), I laid out a strategic battle plan for fighting lust using the first four letters of ANTHEM: (A)voiding triggers, saying (N)o to lustful thoughts, (T)urning your mind toward Christ, and (H)olding tight to him. These steps take you away from the heat of lust in the moment.

But what about next time? Is it possible transform your mind so lust will have a harder time taking hold in the future?

Yes—by desiring God more than anything else. It can be done, and the same strategy will help you not only fight lust and sexual temptation, but any temptation. Learn how you can desire God more than anything else using the last two letters of ANTHEM: (E)njoy a superior satisfaction, and (M)ove on to a useful activity. 

Desiring God: Revive Your Love For Christ

Have you ever heard the saying “fight fire with fire” but wondered why would anyone ever do that?

Let me share a little inisight.

My brother-in-law used to work for the Bureau of Land Management as a firefighter. Whenever a colossal forest fire broke out in Colorado or California, he was one of the guys sent in to bring it down. But in between fighting fires? My brother-in-law was setting them.

Lust is like a forest fire. Strike a match—one little trigger—and the whole mind is ablaze.

In a normal forest, dead grass and trees, fallen branches, and thick undergrowth accumulate over time. Then comes a drought year, and one wayward campfire spark later, the whole forest is ablaze, thanks to the perfect tinder covering the ground. To prevent this, forest managers use a technique called a controlled burn, where they burn off debris during safer conditions.

Lust is like a forest fire. Strike a match—one little trigger—and the whole mind is ablaze. If you fight fire with fire, then you must fight lust with … lust?

As John Piper pointed out in his article ANTHEM: Strategies for Fighting Lust, the reason we turn to sins like lust is because we have so little delight in Christ.

The reason we turn to sins like lust is because we have so little delight in Christ.

“Jesus died for my sins so I can go to heaven?” you say (as you twiddle your thumbs and swivel your chair back and forth). “That’s nice. What should I do in the meantime?”

This is the E of “anthem:” Enjoy a superior satisfaction. God created us to love him and treasure Christ more than anything else—including sex, steamy movies, erotic novels, or arousing images. If you wish to stop lusting for those things, you have to start lusting for a deeper relationship with God.

You must desire God more than anything else.

The big question is, how? How do you make yourself want something that, in all honesty, you find kind of routine and … boring?

The answer: You can’t. At least, not on your own.

Ask God To Help You Desire God More Than Anything Else

This is one of the oddest yet most beautiful aspects about our relationship with God. Rarely does someone have to force himself to want chocolate or ice-cream. But in order to strongly desire God, you need help from God himself. The sinful nature is hostile to God, and Satan would have you believe that it is impossible to crave the treasures of Christ.

In order to strongly desire God, you need help from God himself.

In any relationship, whether with a brother, a spouse, or God, do not wait until you feel something before you act in love. In fact, there are times when you might feel numb, bored, or the exact opposite of loving (hence the reason for the high divorce rates today). But that doesn’t mean you can’t ask God to help you feel something.

Beg him for it. Then beg him again, and again, until you desire him more than anything else. He actually wants you to do this!

Find Your Truest Desires With Scripture

Psalm 63 is the perfect picture of someone who desires God more than anything else. I highly recommend you read it, not just scanning the words but reading each one slowly, out loud even. Then read it again as a prayer. Don’t give up. Study God’s word, meditate on it, pray until you see him the way he wants you to see him.

More verses on desiring God:

• As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? Psalm 43:1-2, NIV
• Take pleasure in the Lord, and he will grant your heart’s desires. Commit your way to the Lord. Trust in him, and he will act. He will make your righteousness shine like light, your justice like noon. Psalm 37:4-6, EHV
• “When you come looking for me, you’ll find me. Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed.” Jeremiah 29:13-14, The Message

You and I were made for so much more than we’ve been desiring. The earhtly things we chase will never satisfy like the things God has prepared for us, if only we would ask. 

You and I were made for so much more than we have been desiring.

Remove (Or Limit) The Things You Love More Than Him

You might love the socks Grandma knitted you for Christmas, but I hope you love Grandma more. Don’t be tempted to love the gifts more than the giver. There really can be “too much of a good thing” when you put it ahead of your relationship with God.

Pull back on or, if need be, eliminate those things that come between you and him and follow the strategies of A-N-T-H-E-M, pressing on with the final one: M, move on to useful activities that don’t put you in temptation’s way. See what kinds of opportunities open up when you begin desiring God and taking pleasure in Christ!

Further Resources to Help You Desire God More Than Anything Else

• On deepening your relationship with God, from my blog: Why Should I Pray? The Remarkable Privilege of Prayer and A Heart of Gratitude: More Than Just Thanksgiving Day
• From The DiscipleMaker.org: How to Ignite Your Desire for God