Why Are We Made to Crave?

CBN.com - Have you ever wondered, “Why?” You ask, “Why do I crave food so much?” That very question challenged me to confront some truths. The truth is I have a self-control and obedience problem. Lysa Terkeurst words hit right at the core of my problem like no other author has had the ability to do.

I am the wife to a health magazine publisher. I am a mother, grandmother, educational manager and graduate student. And --- I struggle with my weight. I dislike how my weight gets in my way of truly living the way God intends for me too fully and freely accomplish all that He has before me. With such a fitness minded companion living under my roof for almost twenty-five years, all the healthy food cookbooks at my fingertips, exercise routines layed out for me and volumes of fitness advice from many experts you would think I could easily resolve my weight challenges. I have had moments of success, but the Bible did not ground it. Ultimately with life stressors I failed. With each failure more weight was gained than before.

Recently my husband handed me Lysa Terkeurst’s book Made To Crave: Satisfying Your Deepest Desire With God, Not Food to read. I will be honest, my first thought was, “Oh no, not another diet book”. However, I did not ignore God’s urging for me to pick it up and read it. I am so thankful that I was obedient because now I know why we are made to crave.

Lysa writes:

With each temptation, Jesus, without hesitation, quoted Scripture that refuted Satan’s temptation. Truth is powerful. The more saturated we are with truth; the more powerful we’ll naturally direct our cravings where they should be directed to the author of all truth.

For me the truth is I want to pursue greater self-control. I state this fact so that I can be accountable and free myself from all those things, which hinder and hold me back. Lysa Terkeurst does more than write about how to get to the core of our weight issues. Every day she lives and testifies to the power of God and works it out on a daily bases. She offers insights into how we too can work it out daily:

If we make the choice to be Jesus girls who offer our willingness to exercise self-control and perseverance to the glory of God, we can lose weight, get healthy, and walk in confidence that it is possible to escape the cycle of losing and gaining back again. We can be victorious. We can step on the scale and accept the numbers for what they are ---an indication of how much our body weighs and not an indication of our worth.

Yes, eating healthy and exercising gets our bodies into better shape, but we are never supposed to get the satisfaction our soul’s desire from our looks. Our looks are temporary; if we hitch our souls to this fleeting pursuit, we’ll quickly become disillusioned. The only true satisfaction we can seek is the satisfaction of being obedient to the Lord.

I have made excuses for a very long time. I’m not going to hide the truth; I love bread, pizza and all the naughty foods. Unfortunately it sticks to me like glue. Most of all I hate being told what I should and should not eat on a daily bases. I don’t like being controlled. Instead, I want to be in control. The reality is, it is time for me to let go and let God finally be in control. Terkeurst targets this point so well:

Eventually, I stood in front of the mirror trying to determine whether or not I should just resign myself to being out of shape. I wondered, Have I reached an age and stage of life where losing weight and getting fit are impossible? The many extra pounds that had crept onto my body could easily be justified. After all, I’ve birthed three children. I even seemed to gain weight with the two we adopted. I am very busy with them. This is my season of raising kids, not lifting weights. I’m too busy running carpools to run for exercise. But, in the quiet of my heart, I wasn’t settled. The reality was I didn’t feel good physically or emotionally. I cringed at the thought of having to undress in front of my husband. Not because he would judge me, but rather I’d be judging myself. Nothing can kill a romantic mood quicker than a woman’s negative thoughts about herself. I would catch myself standing in front of the bathroom mirror in tears many mornings, lamenting over which pants could best hide my bulge. I cried out to God and admitted it was crazy to get emotional about my pants, for heaven’s sake. I wanted to rise above this vain issue and be comfortable with who I was no matter what size. The tide of justifications would roll back in, only this time with a spiritual twist: The world has sold us women a bill of goods that to be good we have to be skinny. I am too concerned with my spiritual growth to be distracted by petty issues such as weight and exercise. God loves me just the way I am.

While the spiritual justification also sounded good, in my heart I still wasn’t settled. I knew my weight issue didn’t have anything to do with me being spiritual or worldly. If I was honest with myself, my issue was plain and simple---a lack of self-control. I could sugarcoat it and justify it all day long, but the truth was I didn’t have a weight problem. I had a spiritual problem. I depended on food for comfort more than I depended on God. And I was simply too lazy to make time to exercise.

Ouch. That truth hurt.

If you know someone that has a spiritual/weight issue then Made to Crave is the book that will help her or him to move in the right direction. Lysa gives excellent Biblical references that give deep understanding and power to her words. Lysa’s insights have helped me to begin a new spiritual journey. I have optimism about losing weight that I have never really had before. After reading Lysa’s book I know that I am more equipped to succeed and fully allow God to satisfy my deepest desires rather than food.

Made To Crave is ideal as a group study book. Each chapter ends with reflection questions to guide group discussion. Why are we made to crave? It is the means by which God wants us to be truly satisfied in Him:

Whether we are talking about food, wine, sex, shopping, or anything else with which we try to fill ourselves, nothing in this world can ever fill us like God’s portion. Nothing else can truly satisfy. Nothing else is unfailing and absolute. And I don’t say all this with a quirky little smile hoping it works. I shout it from the depths of my soul because I know it works, “for He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things (Psalm 107:9).

Made to Crave is the missing link between a woman’s desire to be healthy and the spiritual empowerment necessary to make that happen. The reality is we were made to crave. Craving isn’t a bad thing. But we must realize God created us to crave him. Many of us have misplaced that craving by overindulging in physical pleasures instead of lasting spiritual satisfaction. “God made us capable of craving so we’d have an unquenchable desire for him, and him alone,” says Lysa.
Readers will discover that weight-loss struggle isn’t a curse but rather a blessing in the making, and will learn how justifications that lead to diet failure can be replaced with empowering go-to scripts that lead to victory. Made to Crave plus a healthy diet plan will lead to a healthy weight goal—and growing closer to God in the process.

This is not a how-to book. This is not the latest and greatest dieting plan. This book is the necessary companion for women to use alongside whatever healthy lifestyle plan they choose. This is a book to help women find the "want to" in making healthy lifestyle choices.

To purchase Made to Crave: Satisfying Your Deepest Desire with God, Not Food

Reprinted with permission. Copyright © Faith & Fitness Magazine and Lifestyle Media Group. Faith & Fitness Magazine is on-line at faithandfitness.net. It is published six times per year as a resource for building physical and spiritual strength. They provide live support and program development for individuals, churches, and communities.

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