"They wandered in the
wilderness in a desolate way; they found no city to dwell in. Hungry and
thirsty, their soul fainted in them." Psalm 107:4, 5
As I write this note,
many of us are well into our Daniel Fasts. We may have experienced some
cravings and even some hunger pangs. But today I want to talk about another
type of hunger. The hunger that is so present in the world that men, women and
children are "wandering in the wilderness in a desolate way."
As followers of Jesus
Christ, we know there is a hunger in every person that can only be fulfilled by
the love of God. When that hunger remains unfed, people go searching for ways
to feed it. Some turn to material things like the latest fashions, cars, houses
or toys! Others attempt to fill it with drugs, alcohol, pornography, or
unhealthy relationships. And there are those who try to feed it with food, hobbies,
gossip, or work.
We only need to look
around at the world and see that people are starving for God. Obesity is at an
all time high. Consumer debt is out of control. Pornography is rampant among
all groups of society. Illicit affairs are widespread. People keep searching,
but there is only one thing that can take away the hunger . . . and that is
their Creator.
This leads me to a
couple of questions. Are we, you and I, examples of the abundant life in Christ
so that the hungry want what we have? Is the church offering the food that
hungry people need so they can partake in the only Bread that will satisfy
their hunger forever? Do the hungry even know that we have food?
I believe God is
calling us to be examples . . . fruitful examples of the blessed life one can
have in Christ. Our love, peace and success should look so good and it should
be so attractive that men, women, families and youth are rushing to our doors
to get fed the rich manna God so passionately wants to give them.
But to be that example
calls us to get our lives into God's successful and abundant ways. We need to
put God first in our lives and take seriously our role as His children and His
ambassadors. We need to get our bodies in shape to present a healthy example of
Christian living (studies about the U.S. population show that people outside
the church are healthier than those attending church).
We need to get our
relationships in order and our finances under control! We need to be an example
of the life one can have when the Creator of the Universe is at the helm of our
lives.
Will this be easy? No!
But it will be more rewarding than we can even know. Plus, it is what God wants
us to do. The familiar passage in Proverbs 3:5, 6 says it all, "Trust in
the Lord with all your heart; lean not on your own understanding, but in all
your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths."
"All our
ways" means every part of our lives . . . "acknowledge Him"
means to have direct, intimate contact with God . . . and "direct"
means to make straight in the right way. When we do this, when we get
passionate for God and His way of living . . . then we will have a life so
attractive that the hungry will run to us for food.
The choice is ours. We
only need to decide to go beyond "belief" and on to "active
discipleship" under the One who is the Way, the Truth and the Bread of
Life.
Be blessed.
(From Daniel-Fast.com by Susan Gregory- Author, Speaker, Christian Life Coach)
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