Soul Food

I love how God is so faithful to remind us of the aspects of His character that we tend to shelve after having lived with them for a while. What was once a ‘holy cow!’ moment becomes more of an ‘oh, that’s nice,’ and the Katherine McFee tune “Over It” starts playing like background music in our heads. We often forget the impact that the truth and love of God had on our lives in the first place as they fade into our memory bank as ‘another time, another place.’ But here’s the deal: the truth and love and promises of God are still as alive and rich and fulfilling as when we had our first personal encounter with Holy Love. In this over stimulated world we live in it is so easy to coast through and tune out any Divine whispers and stirrings in our souls. It’s easier just to flip on the TV, the only activity being our hand repeatedly going from the bowl of Cheetos to our face. Been there. But I think there comes a point where we simply cannot survive on cruise control any longer. Our eyes may be a little glazed over from inactivity and our hearts may be buried under all kinds of clutter, but our eyes are still open and our hearts are still beating. More than that, God is still actively involved in our lives, whether we believe it or not.

 

This is a realization I came to just last week. Not a new truth, mind you, just a forgotten one. It was as if someone unlocked the 6-foot thick, soundproof door to my heart and let me breathe in the fresh air and feel the warm sunlight on my face again. You see, I had gotten to the point where I felt a bit like a robot, responding to commands and going through the motions, yet remaining unaffected and completely numb. I hate that more than anything, being trapped in some stale box and not knowing how to get out. Thankfully, the Lord was gracious as always and showed me the exit. I was sitting in on a session during our pastor’s conference at Harvest last week, hungry for anything (‘throw me a bone, here!’) but unsure if the plate could even slide under my heart’s door. (Bear with me on the word pictures, I’m a visual thinker.) And then it happened. CJ Mahaney was speaking out of 1 Corinthians, and I honestly couldn’t tell you what He said, but the unchangeable truth of God’s Word gripped me, and the shell around my heart shattered.

 

Whenever we get the notion that God is not moving in and around us, we can become despondent and cold to what He is wanting to reveal. We think that maybe He has ‘moved on’ or forgotten about us. This simply isn’t true. We are easily led astray and can shift into automatic mode or even become jaded by what we see or don’t see. It is in these moments that we have to throw emotions, lies, and indifference out the window and choose to stand on God’s Word. His Word is alive and active and contains truth from the very heart of God that is still setting people free today! And that doesn’t just mean new believers. It applies to Christians old and new as well. In order to walk in freedom we need to constantly remind ourselves of what God says to us through His Word. Let it wash over us. Let it strengthen us. Let it dispel the dark lies that try to take root in our hearts. So as the Lord has challenged me this week, I also challenge you: dig deep into God’s Word. Ask God to open your eyes to what He wants to show you. Beg for a hunger to know Him revealed in the pages of Scripture. My friend, you will not be disappointed.