When you hear the word craving, what’s the first thing that comes to mind?

For me, most of my life I’ve heard that word used around food.

“I’m really craving tacos today.”

Which, if I’m being honest, is still true most days.

But when we look deeper into the meaning of craving, there is a much bigger conversation to be had.

Craving means to have an intense, eager, or overpowering desire for something. Something deeper than a casual want. Something that feels like a need.

Humans crave many things.

We crave love.

We crave connection.

We crave validation.

We crave safety.

We crave purpose.

These desires are not bad in themselves. God created us with many of these longings.

But when we look deeper into the depravity of humanity, we can also see how our cravings often become places where we seek escape.

The craving to escape emotional pain.

The craving to numb disappointment.

The craving to quiet loneliness.

And that can play out in many different ways:

Drugs.

Sex.

Excessive food.

Work.

Approval.

Control.

Or fill in the blank.

We all have places we run.

Most of the time, cravings are simply acted upon.

We feel something.

We want relief.

And we move toward whatever promises satisfaction.

But the problem is that the things of this world were never designed to carry the weight of our deepest cravings.

They satisfy for a moment.

Then they leave us hungry again.

I know in my own life, the more I have sought Jesus through life’s highs and lows, the more I have experienced a deep satisfaction of the soul.

Not temporary relief.

Not escape.

Not distraction.

Satisfaction.

I’m grateful to say that now when I wake up in the morning, I crave His presence.

I crave His Word.

I crave His Spirit resting upon me.

“As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God.”

— Psalm 42:1

And I know that those cravings didn’t happen overnight.

They grew.

Like a muscle strengthened over time.

As I continued choosing Him over the temporary things of this world, my desires slowly began to shift.

And I’ve realized it isn’t just about what happens in the morning.

It happens throughout the day.

When joy comes, where do I go?

When hardship comes, where do I go?

When loneliness comes, where do I go?

When anxiety comes, where do I go?

Because every moment becomes an opportunity to feed something.

Our flesh—or our spirit.

“For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.”

— Romans 8:5

I promise that as you continue taking those thoughts captive and bringing them before Jesus, something begins to change.

That muscle grows stronger.

And over time, you may find yourself craving Jesus more than anything else.

Because that—and only that—will truly satisfy.