The Way of Self-Examination (cont'd)by Bishop W. Reynold Storr September 22, 2004
A Confounded Mind (cont)
A confounded mind is sometimes caused by being ashamed. David prayed often that his enemies would be confounded with shame: (Ps. 40:14) “Let them be ashamed and confounded together who seek after my soul to destroy it. Isaiah promised that God will do so: (Isa. 41:11) “Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded…”
The fear of man also causes confounding. When commissioning him, God warned Jeremiah that if he feared the people’s faces, He would confound him in their very presence: (Jer. 1:17) “Arise, and speak…be not dismayed at their faces, lest I confound thee before them”. Sudden fear, or terror, also may confound our minds. So great was the patriarchs’ shock at the sight of Joseph--whom they had long assumed dead--that they could neither think, speak, nor move: (Gen. 45:3,). “And his [Joseph’s] brethren could not answer him; for they were terrified at his presence”.
Carnal Cravings Carnal cravings are bodily lusts. The apostle John warns us not to live for these or other worldly desires: (John 2:15—16) “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world….For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world”. What many fail to realize is that the only way to do this is to walk very closely with Jesus daily. Paul writes, (Gal. 5:16) “Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh”. Only the Spirit has sufficient power to control our carnal cravings.
If we abide close to Jesus, the Spirit holds us above the reach of lower temptations. The power of God insulates us from the power of sin. So strong is the life of the Vine within us that the lust of the flesh cannot move us. All that we have in Jesus so satisfies us that we have no desire for all that is in the world, for in His presence is fullness of joy. But if we turn aside from our heavenly Satisfier, all this soon changes.
Our Christ-life weakens and our fleshly nature revives… and takes charge. All that we have in Jesus then seems dull and all that is in the world looks attractive. No longer satisfied in God, our soul instinctively seeks satisfaction elsewhere. We feel again the surgings of carnal desires and appetites long ago mortified. The enemy then begins moving us and manipulating us, through our desires for food, comfort and sex. And soon we find ourselves, again, yet carnal.
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