1 PETER 2:1-3 – So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.
THEME OF THE DAY. SPIRITUAL GROWTH BEGINS WITH SPIRTUAL DESIRE. A hungry infant provides a powerful and vivid illustration of a healthy Christian when it comes to spiritual hunger. Observe an infant that is hungry. It consumes the baby. The longing is intense. Nothing else matters. It must be satisfied and that quickly. The Apostle Peter uses this picture to exhort believers to spiritual growth. His words of exhortation are “long for” which means “to deeply desire” or “desire strongly.”
As we consider this spiritual desire for spiritual growth, let’s identify three characteristics which are present in a Christian for whom the Spirit of God has created this desire. And remember, if the spiritual desire for growth is of God, these traits will be present. Perhaps in mustard seed form, but they will be present and deepen.
First, true spiritual desire for spiritual growth will contain affection for the Lord. Notice Peter’s motive behind the desire for growth – if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. When a person has encountered the love of God in Christ not only does a radical change occur in our lives, but a love affair with God follows. Christianity is a message of love and it will contain emotions and affections. But be cautious here. Don’t seek an experience with God and determine an emotional experience means we are encountering God. The devil comes as an angel of light and can produce false spiritual experiences. Here is how we may measure true affections and encounters with God; does the encounter produce humility, desire for holiness, weaning from the world, love for Christ’s people, a passion for the Gospel, and an intense longing for heaven. These are the affections associated with a desire for spiritual growth.
Next, true spiritual desire for spiritual growth will contain a disciplined will to say “no” to worldly things and activities keeping us from time in the Word and prayer for growth. The Apostle Paul said, “I discipline my body and bring it under control” (1 Corinthians 9:27). If we have tasted that the Lord is good, no worldly attraction or activity will occupy more of our time than the pursuit of the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus.
A third characteristic in a true spiritual desire for spiritual growth will be a disciplined will to say “no” to distractions keeping us from fulfilling the desire to grow in the Lord. The first area of discipline is the exercise of our will to make wise decisions in the use of our time for spiritual growth. This area of discipline is to have a will exercised that will not allow distractions to steal away our time in the Word and prayer for spiritual growth. These distractions are many ranging from looking at our phones, checking out social media, thinking more of what we must do instead of focusing on the Word, and a host of other things drawing our minds away from the Lord. Just think about the bombardment of mental and physical distractions that come our way when we sit down with our Bibles. Unless the desire for Jesus is strong and deepening, we will succumb to these distractions and invalidate our spiritual desire for Him.
God wants us to have a spiritual hunger for Him; a hunger as intense as an infant for its mother’s milk. And He will grant that should we seek it. As He does, let’s ensure we make it a true desire by living a spiritually disciplined life to make the desire become a living reality.
PRAYER: “Father, give me true spiritual desire for growth that leads to spiritual discipline for growth.”
QUOTE: “When the Spirit of God produces a desire for spiritual growth, spiritual discipline will always follow”