1 Peter 2:1-3 (Potent Cravings)

"So get rid of all evil behavior. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech. Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment,  now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness."

To crave: to long for; want greatly; desire eagerly.  What are the things you crave?  We use that word a lot.  In the past week, I have verbalized a craving for chocolate (no surprise there), laying on a beach, some Starbucks coffee, a good glass of wine, Tony Sacco's pizza, and to host a party at my house...hmm, I'm seeing that my list includes mostly things I could eat or drink.  Bummer.  I'm sure there would be many more on my list if I just stopped and thought long enough.  We crave constantly. 

According to the above verse, our desire to crave is God-given!  It's okay that you feel the urge of cravings -- God made us to crave.  Yet what are we to crave?  Certainly, God did not create me with a purpose of craving Starbucks.  Though I do find it funny that the Bible uses something we ingest.  We are to crave pure spiritual milk, which represents knowledge of God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and Who they are so that we can live accordingly. 

Yet, in our fallen world, satan, the deceiver, lies to us to make us fill our cravings with something other than God.  Satan wants us to keep thinking that if I could just have ____, then I would be satisfied.  But that satisfaction never lasts because it's not really the ____ you want...it's something even deeper.  I came home really stressed from my summer job yesterday, and immediately went to the fridge.  (Don't you judge me...you know you've done it, too.)  But the Bible tells us "Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God" (Deuteronomy 8:3).  Yes, we need food to eat and sustain our lives, but our inner desires are met in God's word, His truth.  I wish I would have sat down and read and prayed instead, because let me tell you that my time in the Word this morning has been much more fulfilling than my little snack yesterday, and the crackers were even stale!

Does that Deuteronomy verse sound familiar?  It should.  When I looked up where it was found, it was listed somewhere else in the Bible, too.  It's also found in Matthew 4:4.  Guess who is saying it...Jesus.  And why?  He, Jesus Himself, is quoting scripture as satan is with Him in the desert.  Jesus has gone without food for 40 days, and satan, knowing how hungry Jesus is, is trying to convince Jesus to turn rocks into bread so He can satisfy His own craving!  And Jesus...did you hear that...JESUS responds with Scripture.  Jesus was fully God, but He was also fully man when He was on this Earth.  I don't comprehend that completely, and I don't think I have to.  But while He was here, He experienced all that we experience as human beings.  How do I know?  If He wasn't really struggling with His own craving for some tangible food to fill His very empty stomach, He wouldn't have NEEDED to quote scripture.  He could have just said, "No, satan."  But, because He was fully human too, He craved some food.  He thought about it in His mind.  But, in His perfection and as an example to us, He did what all humans need to do: Stop, think, and defeat satan's lies with the Truth of scripture.

If you read further in that story, Matthew 4, you can see what else Jesus did after being tempted three times:

“Get out of here, Satan,” Jesus told him. “For the Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’  Then the devil went away, and angels came and took care of Jesus."

He commanded satan to leave with the Truth that He would only worship and follow the Lord.  Knowing that, satan left, and the angels came and took care.  This can be true in your life, too.  But as the verses for today say, we must CRAVE the knowledge of God and His Word.  We need to memorize scripture so that we can speak the truth when we are tempted with cravings.  Remember that the Lord will always give you a way out (1 Cor. 10:3).

Grow close to God, my friends.  Crave Him.  Cry out for Him, as our verses today say!  He will not disappoint you, and you will not be left feeling empty later.  Make the choice to saturate your life in Him and His Word.

The Lord delights in you enjoying a piece of chocolate or hosting a party, but He does not want you to believe they will fulfill your deepest longings at the end of a hard day or week.  Let Him whisper to your heart, and then may you experience what its like to have your needs and desires met in Him.

Go ahead, start by telling Him what you crave today, no matter what it is...then let Him know that He is what you want to long for; want greatly; desire eagerly.