A Strong Craving for Other Food
I am sure we have all had a strong craving from time to time. A lot of times it is a craving for a particular food. However, we can have cravings for just about anything that we find enjoyable. This is our human nature with all of its needs and desires speaking to us and trying to get us to go along with what it wants. Some cravings are just fine, but others are very harmful. Those cravings lead to addictions, or they lead us into sins that cause us much harm. We must be very careful not to give into those kinds of cravings. When Israel was in the wilderness, God took care of them well, but they had a craving for other food. (Numbers 11:4,6) They wanted to eat meat instead of manna. They wept to the Lord asking, "Who will feed us meat?" They had lost their appetite for God's food for them, which was the manna He provided each day. They didn't even want to look at it any more. We need to learn a lesson from Israel and apply it to our lives today.
Our flesh is often at odds with what God wants for us. We want to do what makes us feel good. Our flesh doesn't want to work hard and do the right things. The flesh is basically lazy, and it leads us to do the wrong things. Therefore, if we listen to the flesh, we will miss God's will. When we become a Christian, we have the power to deny the flesh and follow what God wants for us. It is not easy, but it is possible as we surrender to the Lord's will and allow the Spirit to give us the power to resist. In fact, the Spirit will give us the desire to do God's will and to be content with what He has for us, if we follow what He wants and walk in the Spirit. He will teach us that God's food, or God's provision, is always better than what we would desire for ourselves. That is a vital lesson if we would live in joy and peace. We need to reject the craving for other food, and ask the Spirit to give us the craving for God's food for us. This makes God very pleased with us, instead of stirring up His anger against us when we rebel against what He wants for us.
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Tomorrow, I intend to read Numbers 12-14.