Hungry for the Things of God

For the person that is truly hungry, even the simplest and smallest piece of bread is satisfying. As Christians who live in a context where biblical content is so pervasive and accessible, our nourishment and satisfaction has much more to do with our appetite and much less to do with what's on the menu. When you're truly hungry it's hard to get hung up on what's being served.

            We don't face the challenge of being hungry and not having enough, rather the challenge we face is tied up in our abundance. In seasons and places of prosperity it's all too easy to take what's precious for granted or treat something sacred as if it were common. One of the marks of a deepening Christian maturity is that, while in seasons of blessing, you can maintain your hunger for the things of God and the realization of your own spiritual need. The Bible is replete with examples of how prosperity can potentially be just as damaging to a person's faith as persecution. If we allow the blessings of God to produce feelings of self-righteousness or self-sufficiency in our life, then those blessings have become a curse.

            This is the work of the enemy, to take what God has made good and twist it for evil in order to subvert the work of God. The devil's tactics aren't always so straight-forward. If he can't tempt you to jump into obvious sins, then he tries a more subtle approach. He will attack your schedule and appetite. The enemy is quite glad when people are too busy to give God the time of day or their appetite is so out of sorts that they don't even desire the things of God anymore.

            Maybe now more than ever, we have extra time on our hands. What are we doing with it? Perhaps our next step for spiritual growth is not finding the newest, coolest thing, but rather asking and allowing Jesus to produce a deeper hunger for the things of God in our souls. Instead of being caught up by all the external things, maybe today's the day you pick up your Bible and ask God to start changing you from the inside-out.

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled."
-Matthew 5:6

You Just Gotta Have Faith

Faith is an important part of life. It is the ability to trust someone or something because you believe they are reliable, honest, or competent. When a person has genuine faith, it will show up in their actions. It is at work each day, not only in our spiritual life, but also in our everyday activities.

For example, you go to a doctor whose name you cannot pronounce and whose degrees you have never verified. He gives you a prescription you cannot read. You take it to a pharmacist you have never seen before. He gives you a chemical compound you do not understand. Then you go home and take the pill according to the instructions on the bottle. All in trusting, sincere faith.

What God requires of us is that we would simply apply the same trust to Him that we often give to our doctors without a passing thought. When God gives us a prognosis or diagnosis for our life, He wants to obey His instructions with a simple, sincere faith.

5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
-Proverbs 3:5-6

What areas of your life are you needing to trust God with? Are you listening to His prognosis? What would it look like today if you trusted God with a simple and sincere faith?

Sometimes what God wants you to do will not always make sense at first. However, your faith is not in a situation, it’s in a savior. Even though your circumstances may be fuzzy, God’s character is quite clear. That is what your faith is in, the personal character of God. He does not lie. He keeps His promises. He loves you.

So, when God tells you what to do, “you just gotta have faith”.

Even when you don’t see how it will all work out, “you just gotta have faith”.

When God shows you a plan that’s different than your picture of life, “you just gotta have faith”.

Why is this so? Because He is faithful.

Answered Prayer in Your Time of Need

Here’s a short story that I came across and wanted to share with you.

An elderly woman hurried to the pharmacy to get medication, got back to her car, and found that she had locked her keys inside.  She found an old rusty coat hanger left on the ground. She looked at it and said, “I don’t know how to use this.” She bowed her head and asked God to send her some help.

Within 5 minutes a beat-up old motorcycle pulled up, driven by a bearded man who was wearing an old biker skull rag. He got off of his cycle and asked if he could help. She said, “Yes, my daughter is sick, and I’ve locked my keys in my car.  I must get home.  Please, can you use this hanger to unlock my car?”

He said, “Sure.”  He walked over to the car, and in less than a minute, the car door was open.

She hugged the man and through tears, softly said, “Thank you, God, for sending me such a very nice man.”

The biker heard her little prayer and replied, “Lady, I am not a nice man.  I just got out of prison yesterday; I was in prison for car theft.”

The woman hugged the man again, sobbing, “Oh, thank you, God! You even sent me a professional.”

As Christians we have the amazing privilege of taking our requests straight to God. Not only that, we have a high priest in Jesus Christ that can empathize with us because He was tempted and tried in every way just like us. Even more yet, we can have confidence when we approach God that we will find help in our time of need. Do you have a need today? Take it to God in prayer. When you pray do not doubt God’s ability to send help when you need it most. And hey…He may even send a professional.

Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
-Hebrews 4:16, NIV

Stay Afloat with the Armor of God

Did you know that if you put an orange in water it will float? Did you also know that if you put that same orange in water except with its peel completely removed it will sink? It is a neat little experiment that you will have to try for yourself. Get yourself an orange or two, a pitcher of water, and have a go at it.

This little experiment serves as an illustration that teaches us about our spiritual life. Many people will either sink or stay afloat in life. Some are dragged down by weights, worries, secret sins, or any number of Satan’s traps. Others keep floating, staying above their problems, pressing on even if the waters are turbulent. Do you know what makes the difference between sinking and floating? Why does life seem to best some people while others are getting the best out of life? What made the difference for the orange in our experiment?

With its peel the orange floats but without its peel it sinks. God has in a way given us a protective peel of our own that will keep us afloat in life. It is called the “Armor of God”. When we choose to suit up with the “Armor of God” we will stay afloat, but if we disregard it, we will certainly sink just like the orange without its peel. If you need a reminder about what armor God gives the Christian listen to what Paul says in Ephesians 6:13-18,

13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

Well…are you going to sink or float today? It is all a matter of suiting up. Put on the full “Armor of God” today!

Picture by Stuart Kiloh.