I got a pretty strong word from the Lord today while in a time of prayer with the staff at my church. I think it's not only for myself and my church but for THE church, the whole body. But before I share that word, I want to shed some light on some struggles I have that relate and brought me to hearing this word.
Over the past couple years I've been in the process of becoming more healthy and in better shape. And process is an understatement. It's been a battle and a real struggle at times. At times, I've gone hard after healthy eating and exercising, and at other times I've just given up. At this point, I'm back on the proverbial wagon and hoping to stay here for good. Actually, if you're reading this and are a friend of mine, can I ask you to help me hold my feet to the fire in this? And if you're sensing that I may need a good kick in the butt to stay on track, you have my total permission to do so. :)
This morning, I took a little walk to get moving and wake myself up before going to work out. After working out, I was feeling really good, had lots of energy, and was excited to go about the rest of my day. I was eating a granola bar on my way to church and had some fresh fruit that I was looking forward to enjoying a little later. As I ate the granola bar, my thought was, "Wow, this tastes so good! And it's satisfying my hunger." And it hit me - food = fuel. Now I know you've heard that before, and so have I, but this time it actually clicked in my head. And so I purposed in my heart and mind to look at what I eat as fuel for my body and not to eat something just because it tastes "good" or because I'm craving it.
So it was very interesting that, in the beginning of our prayer time at church, we were talking and praying about desiring God and hungering for Him. So this was my word from the Lord: I heard Him say several times that He wants to bring a shift in our appetite. He wants to bring a change in what we hunger for and what we feed ourselves on. Instead of feeding on entertainment and things of the world that only satisfy for a moment, He wants us to feed on His presence, His Word and His will, which are everlasting.
In John 4:34, Jesus says "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work." This is the food that satisfies. It is spending time in His presence, in His Word and going outward, taking the love and the presence of the Lord to people in need of a Savior who can satisfy their every longing. And as we feed on this food, it not only satisfies us now, but we will one day reap the benefits of the treasures we have stored up in heaven.
I'll end my own words here and let the scriptures speak for themselves. John 6:57-58 "As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so He who feeds on Me will live because of Me. This is the bread which came down from heaven - not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever."
