As we seek to live for God’s glory our desires for sin seem to constantly trouble us. Is there any hope? Can these desires be turned off?
The woman at the well found Something
Jesus uses the physical thirst of the woman at the well to show her that she is spiritually thirsty as well. She is trying to fill the thirst of her soul with sexual immorality. However, after her encounter with Jesus she is so satisfied that she is not even physically thirsty. She found Something that literally turned off her desires for sin.
The means of grace
We want what the woman at the well had, so we seek religious deeds to find it. This is not all bad. If you want to encounter God’s grace you must place yourself where He normally pours out His grace, the means of grace. The means of grace would be things like Bible reading, prayer, worship, fellowship, etc. However, many people who read their Bibles, pray, go to church, etc. find that their desires for sin do not dissipate.
Jesus alone satisfies
The Pharisees engaged in the means of grace as a religious duty. They never were really looking for Jesus or His grace. Because of this, they missed Jesus in all their religious deeds. We can do the same thing. We can become so consumed with the gift that we do not even look for the Giver. We can be so consumed with checking a box or following a habit that we do not even look for Jesus. However, religious deeds cannot satisfy the soul. They are as empty as sin is. It is only Jesus that satisfies our soul. When Jesus satisfies our soul our hunger, thirst, and desire for sin literally dissipates.
Happy in God
We must keep a careful watch over our soul to see that we are actually “happy in God” as opposed to fulfilling a religious duty. We must actively seek Jesus in all the means of grace. We must seek to be happy in Him alone. We must seek for Him to satisfy the deepest longings of our nature. When you are happy in God, the desire for sin will disappear. When the desire or thirst for sin reappears the solution is to seek Jesus anew.
Application
Are you happy in God? Will you seek Jesus for the satisfaction of your soul?
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