Receiving ALL His Desires through His ONE Desire

“If You are the Son of God throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.’” Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’” Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’” Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.

When tempted, Jesus did not deny His desire for food, nor His command of the angel armies, nor did He deny His desire to reign as our just King over all the kingdoms of this world – He did indeed desires those things, but He was not going to substitute His desire to honor His Father FIRST with the mere temporal lust. Nope, Jesus prioritized His desires as subsidiary to HIS ONE DESIRE! Satan tempted the very Identity of Jesus to prove Himself by acting independently or presumptuously apart from His Father. Many instruct, and rightfully so, that Jesus overcame Satan by the Word of God – and He did. 

Mind you, Satan himself was using the Word of God to tempt Jesus. We can know the whole of Scripture, but without a desire to honor God first in our lives, it is doubtful we will use His Word skillfully. Speaking the Word of God as a reply to Satan was a secondary response to Jesus’ primary burning and zealous compass of desire (of nuclear power, I might add) to glorify God first and foremost – was the spark that His responses flowed from!  As Jesus encouraged us, and David echos His counsel, 

But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Matt 6:33

In this will I be confident, ONE THING HAVE I DESIRED and that will I seek after, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, that I may behold His beauty and inquire in His temple. Ps 27: 3, 4

As one discerning soul said, "Faith is not the lucky lever on a slot machine that we pull hoping for three cherries!" This is not the faith that Jesus or His Hebrews trained by. No, faith in Hebrew is emunah, and it means to abide and be faithful IN and TO the Echad of God, to remain one with Him!

In the moment of temptation we panic with the threat of “Oh no, if I don’t get or do this now, then I can’t haveeeee…” – and when we do that, Beloved, we place ourselves in a vacuum that usually spirals down into mere, plain-o, plain-o, same-o, same-o lust. We need to steady ourselves in that we have already been given all things through Christ. It’s not if we receive our godly desires, but when!

Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 2 Pet 1:2-4

Friend, if we answer temptation in a vacuum with all our coulda, shoulda, wouldas, then sooner or later, we are going to cave! But if we answer temptation with our highest and fully awakened good and holy desires, we can experience not only satiation, but permanent victory! Next time you are tempted to sin, don’t look at your sin with a whimpy “Oh, I really shouldn’t…pouty, winey, winey” but instead look at your sin with “No! Bless God, I WANT HIS COMPANIONSHIP, I WANT TO LIVE RIGHTEOUSLY, I WANT PURITY, I WANT SELF-CONTROL, I WANT TO GLORIFY AND BE FAITHFUL TO HIM, I WANT HIM, I WANT HIM, I WANT HIMMMM! AND HIM FIRST!” (And it helps to say it, shout it, sing it – right out loud!)

I am my Beloved’s, and His desire is toward me. Song of Sol 7:10