Day 1 – What You Feed On, Is What You Will Crave

What You Feed On, Is What You Will Crave

I understand craving very well at the moment, I am in the middle of a few day fast. So now at the end of the first day my body is realising that it’s not going to get food and it is freaking out a bit. Now my body is craving for the food it is used to being fed by. That would be Nachos, KFC, etc., not pea soup.

This is not only true of our physical craving for food, but also in our minds and spiritual life. Whatever we feed our minds with, is what it will become accustomed to and is what it will crave. I was thinking about what I fill my mind up with, and realised that I spend so much time on TV-shows and entertainment based websites. I want to have a closer relationship with God, but often don’t spend nearly enough time in His presence seeking His face. That is why I’ve decided for this week to totally cut out all of those things. None of those things are sinful, but they distract me from filling my mind up with what is truly good. My mind is begging for some of those now, as well as for the pop tarts on my girlfriend’s kitchen counter.

I am not doing this to punish myself, and it is certainly not for any religious reason or obligation. It is for a relationship, and I want to put aside any desires of my flesh which can distract me. I want to spend intimate time with Jesus, because I love Him.

Eph. 2:3-4            All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of his great love for us…

So anytime my flesh craves for something, I shift my focus to, “I hunger for you, Jesus. More than I do for food or anything else that wants to hold my attention.”

This fast is so I can refocus and start feeding on God’s Word and His presence, so that I will crave Him more and get hungrier for Jesus.

A little story about cravings: I never used to eat salads much until I went to the USA last year and had salads with ranch dressing. I enjoyed my ranch side salad  with almost every meal. After a few weeks I got so accustomed to it that I started craving the salad. This boy, who normally wouldn’t even eat a side salad, would on occasions order a salad by itself as his main course.

I believe this is how the cravings of our mind and spirit work as well. Habits are very good demonstrations of this. They are things you have become so used to doing that it becomes either a controlling factor, or something you do just for the sake of doing it.

Without even thinking I find myself opening my cupboard and staring at the food at times. Even when I’m not actually hungry, but only because it is a habit. Similarly people find themselves saying, doing, and looking at the wrong things. Sometimes it is a craving from the flesh, and sometimes just because you are in the habit. Get out of that mindset, get control over it, by feeding on what brings you life. Jesus said that He is the Bread of Life – feed on Him until you crave Him.

Gal 5:16                So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

Fasting is simply to turn off the desires of the flesh, in order to focus on the spirit, by spending time in the secret place with God.

For anyone interested in fasting but want to know more about it. Listen to Dr. Allan Bagg explain the purpose of fasting, how long a person should fast, and tips to help you through it.

Part 1
Part 2

Thought for the day: Do I feed on and crave for the right things?