When What We NEED Becomes What We WANT

I recently read the following quote on Lon Solomon Ministries Facebook page:

“Eve found the serpent more trustworthy than God, not because of its credentials, but because the serpent said what Eve wanted to hear.”

We are no different than Eve. It doesn’t matter how much God has proven Himself faithful, loving, wise, and powerful to us—our enemies are constantly on the move to destroy us from the inside—out. The enemy seeks to undermine God’s credibility by convincing us that God is less than He says He is. The enemy works on our desires. He seeks to create insatiable fleshly desires within us in order to destroy everything good in our life. He seeks to darken the delightful desire of our born-again, inner man for Christ—so we think HE is not worth our pursuit.

Satan does not want us to desire God.

Whether it’s personal relationships, church membership, community affiliations, business associations, or politicians—the natural man (flesh) part of us is drawn to the voices that tell us what we WANT to hear instead of what we NEED to hear. This persistent desire to follow the influences on our flesh rather than to desire the things of God was not just an “Eden problem.” It is our daily struggle today. 

To fight against it, we must learn to grow our desire for the truth.

The seductive and destructive lies assault us from every direction. We are beguiled by riches to cheat each other. We are tempted by sexual desire to have relationships that conflict with God’s Word. Politicians promise free money to win votes. And we fall in line. We act based on the “truth” we WANT to hear versus the truth we NEED to hear. This attitude has invaded even our churches. We see leaders more concerned about a “feel good” atmosphere in order to draw crowds of people who can get emotionally hyped, yet they have no idea how to lead their neighbor to come to know Christ. 

The failure of the church to engage in intense discipleship is wasting the body of Christ.

The Bible warned us of this time—when even those professing to be Christians do not want to hear the truth:

“I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.”

“For the time will come when they will NOT endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.”

“But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”

2 Timothy 4:1-5

If we are to fulfill our glorious purpose, we must desire the TRUTH of God’s Word more than we desire any other “truth.” Otherwise, we will miss out on all the many blessings God has for us. Obedience to what we want to hear, versus what we need to hear, will NEVER help us grow closer to God. We will never be challenged to change our heart or our actions to conform more to the will of God. Can you imagine if the U.S. The Army’s training and doctrine was based upon what each recruit wanted the rules to be? They would neve be ready for the fight. 

The best spiritual warriors are those who desire to be better and thus, embrace what they NEED more than what they WANT.

We are called to be warriors in the most important warfare—the spiritual warfare! Don’t you want to be all you can be for God’s glory??? If so, it’s time to get serious about making God—and HIS ways—the center of your life. Build a community of people who desire God’s presence more than creature comforts. Build relationships with folks who will tell you what you NEED to hear from God’s Word instead of what you WANT to hear. It will make YOU stronger. It will build stronger RELATIONSHIPS. It will build stronger CHURCHES. It will heal our LAND. 

We must be willing to discover GOD’S truth in order to fulfill our glorious purpose and be all we can be for His glory. We must NOT be content with mediocrity in any area of our life—especially our Christianity. 

My friend, we have been given the greatest commission from Jesus Christ. God has called us to live in excellence—for His glory. Christ is NOT mediocre. True CHRISTianity challenges us to be extraordinary so we can live a life that is far beyond what we could ever imagine!