Natural vs. Spiritual Cravings

by Cathy Duplantis | Articles, Christian Living

I hate to brag, but I can make amazingly delicious pecan praline candy. Each creamy delight is as large as my hand and filled with whole pecans from one end to the other.

Before I turned 40, I could eat an entire batch without gaining an ounce, which I did more than I care to admit. It seemed that once I ate one sugar-filled bite, a serious craving would come upon me, and I would plot ways to get more.

I never realized how hooked I was until the day I tried to hide them from my sister Christine. The last of my pecan praline candy was in a Ziploc bag in my purse, and I was struggling with the idea of sharing them with her.

I knew she loved them almost as much as I did, but I was trying to convince myself that she could make a batch of her own if she really wanted one. After all, it was her recipe!

That’s when I reached in my purse and gave her the entire bag. She thanked me, and, as any good sister would, she offered one of them to me.

Since that day, I have taken control of my candy-eating life. I have found that I can no longer recklessly indulge without seeing that unwelcome new bulge. I have even stopped sending my pecan praline candy to two of my friends because I was contributing to their addiction, which was equal to mine.

They embarrassingly admitted to hiding them from others to feed their strong craving for more. I thought I was the only one that did that.

You see, if you have a serious craving, it will show.

A Better Craving
Many of us have had to deal with cravings of one type or another in our lives, but there is one craving that should never be ignored—the deep hunger inside every living soul for God Himself.

Although many people seek out religious tradition, worldly entertainment or the wealth of this world in an attempt to satisfy their spiritual craving, nothing manmade will ever satisfy that deep hunger for God.

Remember what Jesus said? “I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst” (John 6:35).

The Gospel is filled with examples of people who had such a strong craving to be near Jesus that others took notice.

There was an 84-year-old prophetess named Anna who had a spiritual craving to see the Messiah that was so strong that she departed not from the temple, but served God with fasting and prayer night and day (Luke 2:36-37).

Regardless of the complaints of Martha, Mary spent every moment she could at the feet of Jesus soaking in His Word. Judas complained when Mary anointed those precious feet with a pound of very expensive ointment and the odor of her sacrifice filled the whole house.

Luke 19:2-4 tells us about a rich publican named Zacchaeus who was so hungry for God that it literally drove him up a tree. When you yield to a craving for spiritual things, it will show.

The opposite is also true if you have ignored the craving of your heart for more of God. When you are weak from hunger, it is difficult to feed someone else spiritual food. You can’t pour out, if you haven’t been filled up! Do you want more of God? Don’t ignore that craving! Go ahead and indulge!

Seek, inquire of and for the Lord, and crave Him and His strength (His might and inflexibility to temptation); seek and require His face and His presence continually evermore.
(Ps. 105:4 AMP)

Your success in life is directly related to the time spent seeking God, His strength, His face and His presence. If you have difficulty seeking God, verse one of Psalm 105 reveals the three essential steps to start with:

  1. Give thanks unto the Lord
  2. Call upon His name
  3. Make known His doings among the peoples!

Give Thanks
This may seem simple, but giving thanks is essential to beginning your quest for more of God. When you seek God in prayer, you have an immediate audience with the King of Kings!

Psalm 100:4 tells us to “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and a thank offering and into His courts with praise! Be thankful and say so to Him, bless and affectionately praise His name! An attitude of thanksgiving opens the door and ushers you before the face of God.” If you are thankful, say so!

Call Upon His Name!
Don’t be shy, call upon His Name and acknowledge Him as your Father! He loves to hear the voice of His child.

Psalm 145:18-19 says it best: “The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him sincerely and in truth. He will fulfill the desires of those who reverently and worshipfully fear Him; He also will hear their cry and will save them.”

Make Known His Doings!
Let it be known that God is a good God! Daily remember all the wonderful benefits that He has given to you.

Psalm 103:1-5 states, “Bless (Affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, O my soul;…and forget not all His benefits…. He forgives, heals, redeems, beautifies, dignifies, saticfies and renews your strength!”

Seeking God is never difficult when you start with a thankful heart, sincerely calling upon His Name and declaring His great works.

When you eat from the banquet table of God, there are no limitations. If you crave more of Him, just step up to His table and fill your plate to the brim. He has an abundant, self-serve buffet arranged just for you with a sign that reads: “ALL YOU CAN EAT!” You don’t have to stop until you are full.

Verse two of Psalm 105 shows you how to fill up: “Sing to Him, sing praises to Him; meditate on and talk of all His marvelous deeds and devoutly praise them.”

Singing praises to God and meditating on His Word filled Paul and Silas with God’s strength and gave them peace that was beyond understanding. While they were chained in prison, they refused to give up until they were delivered by the hand of God, and their victory was complete.

Devout praise lifted them above the problems of life and into the presence of God. God is your indispensable necessity! My relationship with the Lord is much more important than anything I own. He is my indispensable necessity, and I wouldn’t consider doing a thing without seeking Him.

Psalm 105:3 says, “Glory in His holy name; let the hearts of those rejoice who seek and require the Lord as their indispensable necessity.” When we continually seek and require the Lord, we have His promise that we will find well-timed help just when we need it.

“Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God’s unmerited favor to us sinners), that we may receive mercy for our failures and find grace to help in good time for every need appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it (Heb. 4:16).

If you are hungry for the presence of the Lord, you can draw near to Him today. Don’t allow the cares of this life to distract you from your most essential need in life. When you fearlessly, confidently and boldly come to God’s throne of grace, you can expect Him to satisfy every need in your life.

Copyright © Jesse Duplantis Ministries
All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Reverend Cathy Duplantis is an anointed teacher of the Gospel dedicated to living by faith and inspiring others to do the same. Cathy is the wife of Evangelist Jesse Duplantis. She has worked continually with her husband in ministry since it began in 1978, serving as Administrator, Editor in Chief of Voice of the Covenant magazine, and television co-host.

Cathy uses her life experiences and divine revelations to encourage and inspire her audience and is a favorite guest speaker for women's conferences and church meetings. She also continues to preach the Gospel with Jesse in meetings throughout the USA.

Along with her husband, Cathy is the co-founder of Covenant Church, a local outreach of JDM in the greater New Orleans area. It was her vision to build a church where people would be encouraged to realize their potential in Christ Jesus, to be able to overcome life's circumstances and to experience success spiritually, emotionally, and physically. In the summer of 2017, Cathy obeyed God and stepped into the Senior Pastor position of Covenant Church. Now, not only is she sharing the Gospel through her local church, but she is continuing to spread the love of Jesus around the world. Cathy desires to show believers everywhere how they can be transformed into powerful and joyful people of faith by applying the teachings found in God's Word.