Today's devotional in Jesus Calling, was good as it always is, but it wasn't anything that just "wow-ed" me...and then I read the Scripture verses.
"Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them." Hebrews 7:25
That one is great all by itself. But then in God's perfect timing, I read Psalm 37:3-4.
Trust in the LORD and do good;
Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.
Delight yourself in the LORD;
And He will give you the desires of your heart.
These verses were an awesome reminder at how God has transformed my heart to desire the things that matter to Him. Of course He'll give me the desires of my heart because as I delight in Him, I draw closer to Him and the things that make Him joyful...make me joyful. Conversely, the things that break His heart...break mine. This has been a wonderful promise to me so many times over the last few years.
But I was at the computer when I looked up these two verses and rather than pull out my Bible and look them up, I searched Biblegateway.com as I sometimes do and this is where He "zapped" me. I say zapped because sometimes His Word just comes through like a nice little jab of lightning or a least a little electrical shock. This was one of those times.
It's an innocuous enough word...it doesn't seem that intrusive...but sometimes it's just one word...and this was it...cultivate. He tells us to "Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness."
He taught me several months ago that His faithfulness means His really, real reality. This world that we live in is often just "smoke and mirrors" put in place by our enemy, satan, who wants to distract us in any way he possibly can from becoming all that God created us to be. But God's faithfulness is His really, real reality and at the root of that really, real reality is an incomprehensible Love that knows no bounds. This faithfulness...the really, real reality will never change! Amen!
Today, though, I caught an alternate definition on Biblegateway.com for that little word "cultivate" and it said this: feed securely or feed on His faithfulness.
I know, maybe not much of a lightning bolt for you...but for someone who yet again is getting frustrated with her weight, eating habits, finding solace and comfort in food instead of God...this was just the shock that I needed prodding with for today.
What's He trying to say to me? Why do I consistently and persistently struggle with this area in my life? I know it's because I look to other things (in my case food) to satisfy my cravings for love, comfort, acceptance, peace, de-stressing, really...you could insert almost any emotion here. But God...today...wanted to remind me to feed on His faithfulness.
This is the most difficult, longest battle I have fought in my life. And I've fought it most of my life. Every fiber of my being is interwoven with the past, present and future of a life that has struggled with food. For those that want to reply that it's just a matter of self-discipline, determination, willpower, good food choices...etc...I say, "Good for you! But none of these have ever kept my weight off."
I know beyond a shadow of a doubt only standing full and complete and loved in His Presence will keep me satisfied for the long haul. After all...only He will completely fulfill the void of love, acceptance, comfort and every other emotion that I seek to fill with food.
Is this going to be easy? Absolutely not!
Is knowing that I should feed on God's faithfulness going to help me avoid every temptation from this point forward? Probably not!
Is feeding on God's faithfulness over time going to develop an intimacy with Him that will satisfy me in ways that food never can or will? Definitely yes!
I think that's a great place to start!
Amen!
"Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them." Hebrews 7:25
That one is great all by itself. But then in God's perfect timing, I read Psalm 37:3-4.
Trust in the LORD and do good;
Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.
Delight yourself in the LORD;
And He will give you the desires of your heart.
These verses were an awesome reminder at how God has transformed my heart to desire the things that matter to Him. Of course He'll give me the desires of my heart because as I delight in Him, I draw closer to Him and the things that make Him joyful...make me joyful. Conversely, the things that break His heart...break mine. This has been a wonderful promise to me so many times over the last few years.
But I was at the computer when I looked up these two verses and rather than pull out my Bible and look them up, I searched Biblegateway.com as I sometimes do and this is where He "zapped" me. I say zapped because sometimes His Word just comes through like a nice little jab of lightning or a least a little electrical shock. This was one of those times.
It's an innocuous enough word...it doesn't seem that intrusive...but sometimes it's just one word...and this was it...cultivate. He tells us to "Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness."
He taught me several months ago that His faithfulness means His really, real reality. This world that we live in is often just "smoke and mirrors" put in place by our enemy, satan, who wants to distract us in any way he possibly can from becoming all that God created us to be. But God's faithfulness is His really, real reality and at the root of that really, real reality is an incomprehensible Love that knows no bounds. This faithfulness...the really, real reality will never change! Amen!
Today, though, I caught an alternate definition on Biblegateway.com for that little word "cultivate" and it said this: feed securely or feed on His faithfulness.
I know, maybe not much of a lightning bolt for you...but for someone who yet again is getting frustrated with her weight, eating habits, finding solace and comfort in food instead of God...this was just the shock that I needed prodding with for today.
What's He trying to say to me? Why do I consistently and persistently struggle with this area in my life? I know it's because I look to other things (in my case food) to satisfy my cravings for love, comfort, acceptance, peace, de-stressing, really...you could insert almost any emotion here. But God...today...wanted to remind me to feed on His faithfulness.
This is the most difficult, longest battle I have fought in my life. And I've fought it most of my life. Every fiber of my being is interwoven with the past, present and future of a life that has struggled with food. For those that want to reply that it's just a matter of self-discipline, determination, willpower, good food choices...etc...I say, "Good for you! But none of these have ever kept my weight off."
I know beyond a shadow of a doubt only standing full and complete and loved in His Presence will keep me satisfied for the long haul. After all...only He will completely fulfill the void of love, acceptance, comfort and every other emotion that I seek to fill with food.
Is this going to be easy? Absolutely not!
Is knowing that I should feed on God's faithfulness going to help me avoid every temptation from this point forward? Probably not!
Is feeding on God's faithfulness over time going to develop an intimacy with Him that will satisfy me in ways that food never can or will? Definitely yes!
I think that's a great place to start!
Amen!
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