Are You Being Fed?
One Sunday, my wife was driving us home from church and she said something that I found simple yet profound.
Without shifting her eyes from the road she said to me, “I feel like I’ve been really fed today. My Spirit feels strong.”
She then said, “You know, it's just common sense. our physical body needs physical food. But once we eat, we digest that food, and then we use the energy. So, that’s why we have to keep having meals in order to sustain our physical energy.”
She went on to say, “It’s exactly the same with our Spirit - our spirit is alive. It’s living - which means if you don’t feed your spirit - you will get weak. If you don’t feed your spirit - you cannot get stronger.”
That interaction I had with my wife leads me to the question I want to ask you – how does your spirit feel in this moment? Do you feel spiritually alive? Do you feel spiritually energized and strong?
Or would you say your spirit feels weak? Are you weighed down with thoughts of worry, anger, anxiety, depression, or even loneliness? Are these things draining you of spiritual strength?
Could it be, that part of the reason your struggle may be so difficult is due to the fact that your spirit isn’t being fed? Perhaps you feel so drained because the real you isn’t being nourished!
Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty" (John 6:35, NIV).
The Peril Of "Covering Up"
Misty Ann Weaver made a tragic decision. The Houston-area licensed vocational nurse is charged in the burning death of three people after she started a fire in her six-story office building. She started the fire because she was behind on an audit for her plastic surgeon boss, and she feared being fired. She hoped the fire would buy more time. Obviously, her actions had unintended consequences.
Ms. Weaver is an extreme example of the tendency to try and avoid consequences by resorting to sin to “cover up” a shortcoming or failure. While few of us will wind up facing three felony murder counts, we are all tempted to “cover up” in this way. When we fail to study for a test, we may resort to cheating to “cover up” that fact. When we have a low self-image, we may resort to gossip or backbiting to “cover up” perceived flaws about ourselves. When we are afraid of negative consequences for not meeting some responsibility or expectation, we may turn to lying to “cover up” that inadequacy. The irony is seen in that the “cover up” inevitably puts us in greater spiritual trouble than before we engaged in it.
We may “cover up” for fear of the disapproval of others, out of embarrassment or shame, or out of concern for certain repercussions. Yet, to turn to sin to shield ourselves from the ramifications of our actions is to compound the problem. Let us have the courage to face God and man, to provide things honest in the sight of all men (cf. Romans 12:17).
Israel was warned about the danger of adding sin to sin (Isaiah 30:1). It is strength of character to do our best in our every endeavor, but it is also strength of character, when we have failed to so do, to courageously, honestly “face the music.”
"Woe to those who dig deep to hide their plans from the LORD. In darkness they do their works and say, "Who sees us, and who will know?" (Isaiah 29:15).
Are You Ready For Company?
What do you do to get ready for someone to visit your home? Do you clean the house from top to bottom? Maybe even buy new towels and linens or pay someone to shampoo the carpet? What about that unfinished remodeling project? Would that finally get done? We haven’t even talked about what food you’re going to serve or what needs to be done in the yard!
APPLICATION
Most of us would feel like we needed to do something to get ready for an important person to visit our home. What if that person was Jesus Christ? What would you need to do to get ready if He were to return today?
If we have an urgency about getting our house ready for company, shouldn't we have an even greater sense of urgency about being prepared for Christ’s return?
"So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him" (Matthew 24:44).
"But you, brothers, are not in the darkness so that this day should overtake you like a thief" (1 Thessalonians 5:4).