Date: 08-July-2026
Name: Eddy Aigbologa
Topic:
THE URGE OF THE FLESH
Content:
THE URGE OF THE FLESH
God created us with natural urges—they are part of His design and essential to life. These urges continually present us with choices. Yet God has given us something greater than our urges: the power to choose. When we choose to deny urges that conflict with God's will, we grow in spiritual maturity and are progressively transformed into the person He created us to be.
Romans 8:12-14 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
Matthew 4:1-4 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.
During fasting, it is helpful to replace the urge to eat—or whatever you have chosen to deny yourself—with God's Word. Feeding on Scripture strengthens your spirit, helps sustain you through the fast, and brings nourishment that reaches beyond the physical to the inner person.
Proverbs 4:20-22 My son, pay attention to what I say; turn your ear to my words. Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; for they are life to those who find them and health to one’s whole body.
John 4:31-34 In the meantime His disciples urged Him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” But He said to them, “I have food to eat of which you do not know.” Therefore the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought Him anything to eat?” Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.
This passage beautifully demonstrates that Jesus was fully human—experiencing fatigue and hunger—yet fully devoted to the Father's mission, finding profound satisfaction in accomplishing God's will. It is not a teaching that physical food is unnecessary, but that God's purposes take precedence when the opportunity to serve Him arises.
Galatians 5:16-17 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.
Prayer Points:
