Day 3 – Lust

“Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having your conduct honourable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.” 1 Peter 2:11-12 NKJV

Lust – A strong passion or longing, especially for unbridled (sexual) desires, lasciviousness.

You can be a missionary working beyond your borders, a successful entrepreneur, or a housewife tending to the needs of your household. It doesn’t matter who you are or where you find yourself – me and you, the children of God – are very susceptible to the sin of lust. Lust is the Maître D welcoming you when you open the door to worldly desires. We fall prey to the sin of lust because of our deep-rooted desire to be loved leaving a void in our soul causing a deep, primal need to be filled.

Sexual desires are mostly associated with lust, but it is much more. It is a desire to lust after something worldly to satisfy your soul on a deeper level – instead of looking to Jesus. It reminds me so much of the first commandment, “You shall have no other gods before me”. Our desire should be for God, desiring anything else leads to the sin of lust.  

Prayer: Father, You are such a righteous God and I thank You for the payment of Jesus’s blood to free us from the sin of lust so our hearts desire You more than anything else. Please help us to guard our hearts against wrongful desires leading to lust. Forgive us the times we lusted in any way after something that we idolised more than You. Amen.