In my journey toward healing I came across a fascinating verse in Psalm 106. This particular Psalm is re-telling an old story of the Israelites complaining of having only manna for their daily meals, while wandering in the wilderness. The particular story was from the book of Numbers, chapter 11, where it reveals that the people complained this meal plan was an adversity, a misfortune (11:1). Imagine that, God providing their every need in a miraculous way, and they come to see it as an adversity!
After listening to the complaint, God grants them the greedy desire of their soul: meat! He causes a wind to blow and carry in “quail from the sea.” (Nu 11:31). That’s odd. Sea quail? Something should have been suspicious about this bird. Continuing, Moses writes that “while the meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, the anger of the Lord was kindled against the people, and He struck them with a very severe plague.” The greedy ones died and were buried there in the desert sand. They named the place, “The Graves of Lust.”
In re-telling this story in Psalm 106:14, the writer explains it this way: “God gave them their request (for meat), but He sent a wasting disease among them.
A wasting disease?
Literally, in the Hebrew language this phrase is, “leanness into the soul.” Their soul will consume, but always remain sparse and empty.
The Psalmist transcends the literalness of a physical disease that killed the human body in Numbers 11, and speaks of a spiritual condition that “kills” the soul. That is, he is saying that the greed and lust are such a severe plague to the human soul that no matter how much is granted, the soul will never be satisfied. The soul will always be lean. Greed and Lust are the twin sisters of a never-ending hunger. No matter how much you get, you are still starved for more.
This is a biblical principle of Lust, not just sexual lust. Any old lust will do. If in His sovereignty God should decide to allow you to receive the lust of your soul, then He will also grant that your soul is never satisfied. He has wired you in such a way that the soul has a disease that “eats away” the satisfaction you hoped to gain in your craving, and you remain starved. He leads you into the wilderness, and hands you a shovel. When you have had enough, you can dig a grave and bury your lust.
The starving soul is the birthplace of lust, leading to all kinds of sinful brokenness in our lives. We must never let our soul become so lean.
Where does the soul get nourished? From life in the spirit, from the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus (Rom 8:2) which is your life in the spirit. There is a difference between your soul and your spirit, and it is the spirit that gives health to the soul. Therefore, the lust in your soul can be a sign of a slumbering spirit, a spirit not doing its job.
A slumbering spirit is not being nourished by its union with Christ; therefore, it is unable to nurture the soul. A slumbering spirit must wake up (Eph 5:14), and let Christ Jesus shine on it and through it.
As a child of God my spirit has become one with Jesus Christ (I Cor 6:17). My spirit should always find its rest and satisfaction in sharing life with Jesus Christ. However, if I quit living from the spirit, and ignore the life of Christ in me, then my spirit can slumber. A slumbering spirit will not yield itself to be filled/controlled by the Holy Spirit (Eph 4:14, 18). If the spirit slumbers, then the soul will rise up in that vacuum and assert its desires, fueled by its own lusts (Jas 1:14).
Christ is your life in the spirit (Col 3:4). He has changed your Identity by marrying your spirit to the most exciting life in the universe, His! Don’t forget this. Don’t fall asleep. Don’t complain that life is not meaningful, and that you’re not significant. If you find yourself complaining with a soul full of illicit desire, then take that as a clue that your spirit is asleep, perhaps even sleep-walking through the Christian life. Wake up your spirit by being filled with The Spirit!
Return to your First Love, and quiet the cravings of the soul. Your spirit is craving its eternal mate, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Protect yourself from shipwrecking your life . . . . for lousy sea quail.
-Carter
(Women’s Pure Heart Weekend starts this Friday; pray for breakthroughs!)