Read Luke 4:1-15

8 And Jesus answered him, “It is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.’”

What are you like when you’re hungry? Do you get agitated, distracted, grumpy, lazy? Whatever your version of hunger-affected life is, you probably aren’t at your best. We often say that when we are hungry we have a “one-track mind”; we just want to eat! Knowing that Jesus experienced all the human limitations that we all feel, Satan tempted Jesus when he was at his weakest – alone and hungry. If Jesus would give up on worship and obedience to God, then Satan promised to meet his needs. Of course, this was an empty promise as Satan cannot provide anything that Jesus, or we, truly need.

It’s no surprise that temptation came in a moment of need. While many of our greatest needs, such as food and companionship, are valid, none of them are to supersede our worship and obedience to God. For Jesus, worship is really an assessment of our true and deepest feelings about God – our appetite for Him. To relate our spiritual health with our affections is not as far-fetched as it may first seem! The truth is that our affections in life set our direction in life. If we love fitness we become fit. If we love God (worship) we become like Jesus, his son. Affection sets direction. Worship is thus like a spiritual GPS. As we continually affirm our love for God as our ultimate desire we find our lives aligning with God’s purposes, not our own.

How do we cultivate this kind of affection for God, a life that unwaveringly worships and serves God over all others? To continue the food analogy, some of us may need to go on a diet. Not a food-based diet, but a spiritual diet. See, the healthiest form of dieting is not simply losing weight, but growing a new appetite. Where we used to crave physical foods that are low in nutrition and energy, we ideally discover and grow an appetite for highly nutritious foods that fuel our bodies. Spiritually, we might examine our own lives and remove any activities or desires that provide low spiritual nourishment. In their place, we focus on growing an appetite for activities or desires that meet our deepest spiritual longings and needs. This could include prayer, reading, memorising or meditating on scripture, serving the poor, opening up our lives or fasting.

Leading up to his temptation in the wilderness, Jesus was fasting. He wasn’t simply depriving himself of food, but deepening his love for God. Like Jesus, learning how to fast in a healthy manner deepens our affection for God. Instead of spending our days identifying and filling our bodily needs, fasting identifies and fills our spiritual needs. This is the journey Jesus walked out in Luke. After overcoming Satan’s temptation and maintaining his affection for God he left the wilderness, “in the power of the Spirit” and continued to live out God’s purpose for his life. To fulfil the purposes God has for you, cultivate an affection for God that is stronger than the temptations to a lesser path in life. Affections set direction.