Awakening Our Hunger

A worker’s appetite works for him, for his hunger urges him on. Proverbs 16:26 (New American Standard Bible)

Appetites run strong in each of us. They drive us to possess the very things we hunger for. Most of us do not have to work at having a hunger for food. It is one of the reasons we get up each day and go to work. Our jobs provide the necessary income to purchase the food with which we stock our cupboards. In the early days of our country, the colonies had a problem with people not wanting to work. The solution was to enforce the biblical standard that if you don’t work you don’t eat. The eventual hunger drove the people to work when their own initiative failed them. In that case, their appetite worked for them and urged them on to work.

The same is true of our spiritual appetites. The hunger and thirst we have to know God is what urges us on to open His Word and take in His truth. It is meant to be more than an occasional snack. It is meant to be a feast and the sustenance our souls crave. It does not take long for our bodies to feel the effect of going without food. Go without food long enough and you experience weakness, hunger pains, a headache, and a general feeling of not feeling well. Our bodies crave food and the negative effects drive us to eat.

And yet hunger for the right foods can be dulled by taking in a lot of sweets and empty calories. I speak from experience when I say, I can feed on so many unhealthy choices that I no longer desire what is good for me. After a while I am eating but not finding satisfaction and a sense of fullness. There are also people who struggle with eating disorders and can eventually shut down the cravings for food all together. Not healthy!

Again, the same is true in a spiritual sense. A hunger for God’s Word is dulled by numerous other activities or shut down completely by pure starvation. But I assure you, the hunger is still there. It just needs to be reawakened. It is simply a matter of asking God to show us how hungry our souls really are for Him. At first, a person may open His Word and nothing seems to happen. But over time, with consistent feedings, the appetite gets stronger and reading His Word becomes an actual desire. It really is a rich food source!

Father, You are never insulted when I ask You to awaken my hunger for You. May my appetite be ravenous! Amen.

Becoming a Possessor

A wise man will hear and increase in learning, and a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel. Proverbs 1:5 (New American Standard Bible)

Today starts a personal journey into the book of Proverbs. I have enjoyed and drank deeply of the Psalms and am ready to venture into the book of wisdom. God is wasting no time in letting me know how to become a possessor of His wisdom. To not only take in truth, but to know how to implement it into my daily walk. He has graciously prepared me for this time and He has done it in progressive stages.

A few years ago, God began to show me how often I failed to walk in truth about Him, His Word, and His ways. He showed me how much of my thinking was connected to the lies of the enemy. Lies about Him, about others, and even about myself. As I began taking in the truth, a profound thing began to happen. I began to hunger for it. This was an essential shift for me, because the hunger led to a willingness to be taught. It affected my hearing as well as my receptability to what was being said or read.

Today’s verse goes beyond being a mere “how to” verse. It is a verse packed full of results and promise. It actually describes the characteristics and advantages of being a wise person. The first half is a stated fact. A wise man will listen and will yield to godly instruction, advice, and wisdom. His open ears and obedient heart are what mark his life. If he is truly a wise person, he will listen and he will act upon what he is being told when it lines up with truth. The result? He will add and join himself to learning, instruction, and teaching. As he does that, he becomes a possessor of the wise counsel he is being given. The way to own something from a store is to purchase it. And the way to own wisdom for oneself is to listen to and obey the words of wisdom that come from God and others.

Many have been the times when I not only refused to listen because of pride and self sufficiency, but I refused to act upon what was being said. It wasn’t until God began to show me the purpose and beauty of hearing and obeying that I finally became open to experience what today’s verse is saying. It is much easier to take in the very things I am hungry for. That is why my daily prayer has become, “Father, instill in me a tender and teachable spirit toward You.” For if that is the kind of spirit I have, I will begin to hear, yield to, and acquire the wisdom that God is continually offering me through Himself, His Word, prayer, and a multitude of sources.

Father, open my ears to wisdom so that I will increase in my learning and possess the wise counsel given to me on a continual basis. Help me to listen, learn, and acquire much today! Amen.

Then They Cried

Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses. Psalm 107:6 (King James Version)

When is it that we cry out to God and seek His deliverance? It is not usually when life is going good and everything is the way we want it. It is more likely to be the times life has fallen apart, pain has become unbearable, and we have run out of options. Deuteronomy 28:52 says, “They shall besiege you at all your gates until your high and fortified walls, in which you trust, come down throughout all your land.”

In Old Testament times God’s judgment usually came in the form of other nations taking His people captive. The nations would vary as would the bondage but the pain of captivity would eventually lead Israel to cry out to God for deliverance. That bondage was a picture of what it meant to be besieged….bound and tied up. They would literally be hedged in to the extent that there was no relief or freedom. The picture of a caged or cornered animal comes to mind. I marvel that it usually took decades before Israel would finally cry out to God for deliverance and help.

We as believers still make sinful choices. I have often heard it said that we can choose our sin but we cannot choose the consequence that will result. God knows each of us intimately and wants us to be free. Therefore, in order to turn us back toward Himself, He will select the very consequence that will produce enough pain to cause us to cry out to Him. His desire is that we would immediately call out to Him. The sooner the better.

I would like to say I am a quick learner and tend to cry out to God as soon as I experience the first taste of pain, but that is not always the case. It may take awhile for my heart to get to the point where I am ready to align myself with truth and seek His help for the right reason. Often my first response is to want alleviation from the pain I am feeling. God knows if given, I will quickly return to my former ways. So He waits for my tears to change. When they are free of bitterness, excuses, anger, and pity He is ready to step in and deliver me. He comes when my hands and heart are open to Him, because He knows it is then that I am desiring Him and His ways above my own. This is summed up in the most recent lesson He has been teaching me and that is to walk in truth and give Him total cooperation. That is the key that unlocks anything that has me all tied up.

Father, You know when I am finally lying prostrate before You in complete submission. Bend my knees and my will to Your ways. Amen.

It Comes As No Surprise

Blessed be the LORD, my Rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle --- My loving kindness and my fortress, my high tower and my deliverer, my shield and the One in whom I take refuge. Psalm 144:1,2 (New King James Version)

I woke with an uneasy feeling this morning. I could not put my finger on it but something was wrong. An uneasiness had settled over me and along with it came insecurity, restlessness, and dread. I had two choices. I could continue to allow the uncomfortable feelings to encase me or I could fight! I know where the first option leads. It is not pretty or good. It puts my focus on my weaknesses and circumstances. It opens my ears to the voice of the enemy who is all too ready to cause me to question recent decisions I have made. The picture he has painted is distorted and grotesque. He has repackaged old lies and is hoping for the same result and reaction from me. He has dangled counterfeit messiah’s across my mind and attempted to persuade me that I must seek my answers and help apart from God and His Word. Pick up the phone, send the email, seek the safety net of others. His invitations sound convincing and even appealing but the truth of the matter is they are traps and quick sand. God has a better answer!

My first defense is prayer. Coming against the enemy and taking the thoughts captive are essential. My second defense is realigning myself with truth and seeking the face and heart of God in His Word. A song has driven me to the Psalms and a Bible reading schedule has led me to this particular one. It is my truth list! It is my vital reminder of where my safety, security, defense, and deliverance lie. God is not only my Heavenly Father, He is my warrior Defender!

This attack comes as no surprise to Him. He is reminding me that after significant steps are taken and decisions are made the enemy is enraged. The realization of lost ground has infuriated him and he now determines to undermine any work of God that has taken place. My recent choices have gotten his attention because he knows those choices will lead to freedom, growth, and blessing. He knows I have been wooed by God to step away from bondage and break a deeply entrenched soul tie. He has been watching as I have finally begun to cooperate with God. Hence, his attack is no longer surprising me either!

I will take my truth list into this day and it will become my battle cry and banner! It is not even a complete list, for God is this much and more. But it is effective and it is mine!

Father, Your Word and Your presence have strengthened me once again. I choose to stand in Your truth! Amen.

Better Than Secret Love

Open rebuke is better than secret love. Proverbs 27:5 (King James Version)

I have never been a person who enjoys being rebuked. Does anyone? The first time I saw this verse I cringed. It conjured up in my mind an angry person glaring at me while spewing out harsh, condemning words. After the rebuke ended I would then walk away in shame and condemnation. Not a comfortable thought and not an accurate picture of this verse!

Last week I received an email that epitomized this verse in a beautiful way. While the person had to be direct with me and say some things that were difficult to read, it was done in a way that showed me her heart and desire for God’s blessing on my life. While the initial sting of rebuke was felt, my spirit quickly detected the truth in her email and that is what arrested my attention and my heart. I knew without a doubt that freedom and growth would come if I heeded her warnings and advice.

So what does an open rebuke entail? First, it should come about after much prayer. I believe this person prayed and desired God’s message to come across to me. Second, it should be based on truth! Her rebuke involved truth about my wrong choices, truth about the consequences if I continued in the direction I was headed, truth about what God really wants to do in my life, and truth about her desire for God’s favor and freedom in my life. Third, it should include a directive. She left no question as to what I should do….fully cooperate with God.

Call it tough love. Call it truth telling. Call it open rebuke. Whatever we label it, it is better than a love that sits idly by and remains silent. I don’t know about anyone else, but when I am headed in the wrong direction and in the process of making unwise choices I want what is best. Give me the open rebuke! But do it in love and with a heart that is living connected to God. Let me see that your words are not spoken out of impatience and with a ”last straw” mentality. Be the mouthpiece of God with absolutely no compromise of the truth.

On my part, I too must be daily connecting with God and desiring truth to be my compass and rudder. As God works and develops in me a tender, teachable spirit, I will have no trouble knowing when an open rebuke is coming from Him through another individual. I will have no trouble seeing the truth and then acting on it.

Will it be easy? Rarely. Will there ever be tears? Most likely. Will others understand? Maybe a few. But God’s voice and direction will be clear and the growth will be astounding. Like it says in John 8:32, “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free.”

Father, thank you for the one who was willing to speak the truth in love. Your message came through loud and clear. Keep my heart tender and teachable toward You. And when necessary, help my open rebukes to be as loving and truthful. Amen.

Radical Obedience

And many of those who had practiced curious, magical arts collected their books and [throwing them, book after book, on the pile] burned them in the sight of everybody. Acts 19:19 (Amplified Bible)

I have often heard of accounts in history when revival resulted in the destruction of former articles of sin and addiction. Often times, bonfires would be built and those things that had become an ingrained part of people’s lives were thrown into the flames. It must have been a profound site. I can only imagine the scene of an entire town bringing their drug paraphernalia, pornographic literature, demonic books and music, immodest clothing, and whatever else they had been in bondage to, and tossing them one by one into the inferno. It would mark a distinct end to a part of their life that kept them at arms length from God.

The Old Testament is filled with accounts of God requiring His people to stop the practice of idolatry. Part of the process was the necessity to completely destroy the idols they had made and subsequently worshipped. True freedom would not come merely through confession and repentance of the idolatry. While it was a good start, it was not the end of the obedience God demanded. For He knew if the idols remained, the tendency to bow to them once again would exist. Ridding their homes and land of every last idol was the ultimate display of total surrender. Stopping short of that act meant unresolved issues and incomplete obedience. Thus the door to freedom would once again close.

I have been in prayer this morning over a personal issue in my own life. While I have sought forgiveness and freedom countless times I have not sensed a release from its hold. While it would not be considered immoral or illegal it is keeping a death grip on my soul that demands a difficult but necessary step of obedience. There is absolutely no question in my mind of what God is requiring me to do nor of the grace He is offering me to actually do it. Failure to obey will not result in a loss of His love for me, for I know His love is based on who He is NOT on what I do. But failure to fully cooperate with Him in this area will result in a loss of His blessing on my life, stunted spiritual growth, and an inability to receive all He has for me. It will also grieve Him and obstruct the intimacy with Him I have come to experience and embrace. That is too great a price to pay in His opinion and mine. Therefore I choose to take hold of His extended hand and walk a path of obedience that will lead to freedom…no matter how painful the steps may be. Let the tears flow as this heart follows Him!

Father, the decision has been made. Give me the grace to obey You unreservedly. Amen.

Corrected Vision

For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in loving kindness to all who call upon You. Psalm 86:5 (New American Standard Bible)

Our ability to approach others is affected by our perception of them. If I believe a person accepts me and enjoys my company I will readily move toward them. There will be confidence, good eye contact, a relaxed atmosphere, and easy conversation. Joy and delight will mark our time together. But if I perceive they are disappointed in me, don’t like me, or are irritated with me, I will usually avoid making contact. If we do spend time together there will be lack of connection, avoidance of eye contact, a guardedness, and very limited conversation. Uneasiness will mark our encounter.

My ability to connect with God works much the same way. If I view Him as a harsh judge, critical, uncaring, and merely tolerating me, I will find it difficult to approach Him. Meeting with Him will either be rushed or avoided all together. Openness and delight will not mark my prayer life…..if I even attempt a prayer life. His invitation to draw near will be viewed with suspicion and disbelief. He will not be the One I feel comfortable with alone.

The words of Psalm 86:5 assure me that God is far different than that. I relax with the realization that God is good, pleasant, and agreeable. He readily displays favour, kindness, mercy, and goodness. The One who forgives me does so willingly and cheerfully, not grudgingly. His invitation to draw near is given with open arms and joy.

I am asking myself why I have held both these views of God at one time or another. For decades it was the first view and for a few years now it has been the second one. I am seeing three things that aided my misperceptions. Authority figures in my life, Satan’s lies, and very little time in the Word. Putting someone else’s face on God and not knowing the truth to counter the lies set me up for huge struggles and hindrances in having an intimate, close relationship with my heavenly Father.

Oh, but that changed radically when God began to allow the truth of Himself to soak in. It came in stages. First He crossed my path with individuals who knew the truth about Him and lived out of that truth. Then He caused me to begin seeing the truth for myself in His Word. It has affected EVERY area of my Christian life and I dance in joy because of it!

Father, I long for others to know the truth about You. I am burdened for Your many children who are still unaware of what You are really like. Use me to help correct their vision and view of Yourself. Amen.