Today's Thought: Day 1

Jesus was hungry.
That detail matters.
His hunger wasn't imaginary. After forty days of fasting, His body legitimately needed food. Yet Satan attempted to take a legitimate appetite and use it to produce an action outside the Father's direction.
Sometimes the problem isn't what we want.
The problem is what we're willing to do to get it.
We can desire companionship but choose the wrong relationship.
We can desire financial security but compromise our integrity.
We can desire recognition but become competitive and jealous.
We can desire success but become so consumed with achievement that we neglect the people and responsibilities God has already entrusted to us.
Jesus teaches us that having an appetite does not mean the appetite gets to make the decision.
There is a difference between saying:
“I'm hungry.”
and saying:
“Because I'm hungry, I have permission to eat anything.”
Spiritual maturity develops when we can acknowledge a desire without becoming controlled by it.
Sometimes you have to speak directly to your flesh:
“You may want it, but you can't have it.”
Not because everything you desire is evil, but because your appetite does not outrank your assignment.