I have been craving no-bake cookies for a couple of weeks now. Chocolaty peanuty bliss… Sigh. So last night I made them! YUM. It took about a half hour, no big deal! And the rewards were phenomenal.
Another thing I did recently was buy jugs with spigots for the fridge. Two… one for my decaf green tea, and one for everyone else’s sweetened wildberry tea. It is sooooo nice to go to the fridge anytime I want and have a nice cold glass of my favorite drink. Before I had to make it hot in a quart jar and then add ice. What a wait for a simple refreshing drink. I drink so much more now and so do the kids!
So … what interest does this have for anybody other than me and my family???
This Sunday our pastor (who I prefer to think of as Shepherd) spoke about how many of our bad choices and decisions come as a result of starvation and thirst. We don’t spend time filling our Spirit with His Word and letting Him talk to us.
The Bible says to drink from His supply of water (read His Word) and to eat His Words (meditate). When I fail to do that I am parched and starving! Then comes desperation to drink and eat. The problem is that way too often I go to the wrong places to satisfy my cravings. Books, my computer, the fridge. We all have our “dry cisterns.” These things are not wrong in and of themselves but deprive me of what I truly need when I turn to them to fill those inner cravings. When I choose to turn to other things instead of what gives life… I have no direction, no Words to direct my path. Then I make bad decisions and poor choices.
When I (we!) get to that place of starvation and dehydration I become weak and thick minded… and I fall for anything that looks good. Rotten food looks amazing to someone who is starving to death just as rank water (like this picture of swamp water!) appears refreshing to someone who is truly thirsty. After a time, though, you don’t even know you are hungry or thirsty… the cravings disappear and you have no internal warnings. Then your body starts to shut down and you die. At what stage are you? I am still craving but I admit that I rarely turn to the water and bread that give life.
So I am encouraging myself… and you as well… pick up your Bible and read and let Him chat with you until your hunger and thirst is quenched. And then pay attention to signs of need so that you can fill up regularly instead of getting to a place of weakness and desperation where you turn to anything other than what you need.
Waterfall image found at PawPawHollerHome
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This was great! And absolutely a word to my heart. This is the very thing I’ve been contending with in my life. God has been drawing me to invest more time in prayer and study, and thru blogs like yours, you’re encouraging the Body. Thanks so much, and keep up the good work!
Oh so true. It’s so easy to fill up with spiritual “junk food” in a vain attempt to satisfy our cravings, when God has a rich supply of what really satisfies, if only we’ll look for it.
Thanks, Sunny.