Crave: to long for; want greatly; desire eagerly.
God: the only One we should long for; want greatly; desire eagerly. The only One worthy to be worshipped.
So, I have been cruising through the book of Psalms this summer. I'm not sure I've ever studied this book of the Bible with such hunger to better understand my Lord. The pages of Psalms in my Bible are now heavy laden with underlines, notes, journaled thoughts, exclamation points, arrows, and aha moments.
One of those moments came in Psalm 78.
Verses 12- 16...
God did miracles...
He led them through the impossible..
He guided them...
He brought water out of dry places...
He gave them everything but they forgot.
Verse 17...
But they continued to sin against him, rebelling in the desert against the Most High.
Verse 18...
They willfully put God to the test by demanding the food they craved.
Verse 21...
When the Lord heard them, he was very angry.
I guess the reason this hit me hard was because it so specifically addresses inappropriate cravings and the reality of how God feels about them.
And it just answered so many questions about why this journey has been such a crucial part of my spiritual growth for this year.
My New Year's prayer was, "Unsettle me." In other words, rattle loose my complacent excuses and break apart my stubborn refusals to look, really look at whatever pulls my heart away from God. Even slight tears can weaken the strongest of fabrics.
So... is there anything I crave besides God?
I know some may shake their heads while thinking I take all this God stuff too seriously.
And I would have to agree completely. I've tasted the deep satisfaction of God and I know all other things are but cheap imitations. And I don't want to be enamored by the lesser things wrought with momentary pleasure.
I am a woman who has witnessed too much. I am ruined for good.
I too have seen God work miracles.
I've been led through the impossible.
He's guided me.
He's brought living water to replace my dried up places.
He's given me everything and I don't want to forget.
Not with my mind- not with my soul- not with my heart- and certainly not with my body.
And so I've made the choice to step into a place of intentional sacrifice. A place where my strength would fail... should fail... but hasn't. "My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever," Psalm 73: 26.
22 pounds... 25 inches... and a heart empowered by God's strength alone.
"He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your father had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord," Deut. 8:3.
God: the only One we should long for; want greatly; desire eagerly. The only One worthy to be worshipped.
So, I have been cruising through the book of Psalms this summer. I'm not sure I've ever studied this book of the Bible with such hunger to better understand my Lord. The pages of Psalms in my Bible are now heavy laden with underlines, notes, journaled thoughts, exclamation points, arrows, and aha moments.
One of those moments came in Psalm 78.
Verses 12- 16...
God did miracles...
He led them through the impossible..
He guided them...
He brought water out of dry places...
He gave them everything but they forgot.
Verse 17...
But they continued to sin against him, rebelling in the desert against the Most High.
Verse 18...
They willfully put God to the test by demanding the food they craved.
Verse 21...
When the Lord heard them, he was very angry.
I guess the reason this hit me hard was because it so specifically addresses inappropriate cravings and the reality of how God feels about them.
And it just answered so many questions about why this journey has been such a crucial part of my spiritual growth for this year.
My New Year's prayer was, "Unsettle me." In other words, rattle loose my complacent excuses and break apart my stubborn refusals to look, really look at whatever pulls my heart away from God. Even slight tears can weaken the strongest of fabrics.
So... is there anything I crave besides God?
I know some may shake their heads while thinking I take all this God stuff too seriously.
And I would have to agree completely. I've tasted the deep satisfaction of God and I know all other things are but cheap imitations. And I don't want to be enamored by the lesser things wrought with momentary pleasure.
I am a woman who has witnessed too much. I am ruined for good.
I too have seen God work miracles.
I've been led through the impossible.
He's guided me.
He's brought living water to replace my dried up places.
He's given me everything and I don't want to forget.
Not with my mind- not with my soul- not with my heart- and certainly not with my body.
And so I've made the choice to step into a place of intentional sacrifice. A place where my strength would fail... should fail... but hasn't. "My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever," Psalm 73: 26.
22 pounds... 25 inches... and a heart empowered by God's strength alone.
"He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your father had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord," Deut. 8:3.
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