Starving in the midst of plenty...

Have you ever wished about 10:00 in the morning that you hadn’t eaten that doughnut for breakfast, but something a little more nourishing instead? We believers can be filled up with the wrong things in our hearts as well. There can be a disparity between our outward profession and inward confession which produces pretense, moralism, a lot of saying the right things, smiling the right smiles, but inward starvation. Unfortunately the starving often rush to junk food, to satisfy the appetite. Many of us believers eat sweet rolls all morning and then are not ready to eat the banquet that is laid before us in worship and the Word.

We know something is wrong. We believe in the gospel, but we don’t live by it. there is not much contagious about us. We have glimpses of the spiritual life, but we’re actually feeling our way through a fog, catching only occasional shimmers of light as the sun breaks through. Most of the time we feel anxious and discouraged. Our lives are stagnant. The ancients called it sloth. They did not mean laziness but spiritual dejection…an inward deep laziness of our souls where the things of God cannot get a hold. What grips those of us with lazy hearts are the things of the world, but not God. This is actually a very old problem. It goes all the way back to the Garden and to Eve when she saw that the fruit was good for food (which is lust of the flesh), delightful to look at (which is lust of the eyes), and desirable to make her wise (which is the pride of life).

Those three massive categories of imagination…capturing realities are there for us every day of our living. But we can change! Not all at once, but over time, as we do three things: first get honest with what truly is in our hearts without rationalizing or blame shifting; second remind ourselves of the gospel every day, that Jesus poured out His lifeblood to wash our hearts. Our sin made His death necessary; and third focus on the wonder and beauty of what God did in His plan of salvation for us and let it grip us with joy and thanksgiving. Meditate on the cross, not just for forgiveness but for strength, confidence, and the assurance of Christ’s victory.

The root of a transformed life is that we become able to warm ourselves at the fire of the love of Christ rather than having to steal love and acceptance from idols. Draw near to that fire today in honesty of confession and hunger for the Bread of Life that always satisfies. You will never go away hungry.

Tracy Willey