The Plumbline

God—you're my God! I can't get enough of you! I've worked up such hunger and thirst for God, traveling across dry and weary deserts. (Psalm 63:1) Whenever we find ourselves in the midst of the "excesses" of life, we often crave what we most need to help us deal with the excess the best. So, we crave what we most need to deal with what we find ourselves enduring or living within! Sometimes we are "enduring" stuff by our own doing - like when I eat a huge bowl of Cheezits or eat a whole candy bar. The sodium from one and the sugar from the other just cause me to "crave" the very thing which will help my body deal with the excess of sodium or sugar - water, movement, and something a little more sensible. Take a look at some of the things that develop a more "spiritual" craving within you and you may just be surprised at how much you have been 'craving' because you are deficient in those very things. Here we are presented with ...

There is a strange truth we might all want to consider when it comes to our hunger and being sated. The hungrier we are, the more we will 'take in' whatever is in our path. It might not even make sense, but we will eat and eat until we are no longer hungry. Come upon the same things when you are already sated and you will be less likely to find any appeal at all in them. Why? Sated bodies don't crave things the same way a hungry body does. The same holds true with a sated spirit and soul! When you are full, you will not even eat honey. When you are hungry, even something bitter tastes sweet. (Proverbs 27:7) A sated spirit and soul are going to help us avoid the 'intake' of things that are wrong for our lives. We are less likely to just 'bite into' whatever comes our way because we have been filled to overflowing already. Nothing appeals to us outside of what we have already enjoyed by sitting in the presence of Jesus and 'taking in' what he provi...

Have you ever blurted out to someone that you were 'starving' - perhaps having been delayed in having your lunch, or not being able to grab breakfast before your day took a huge swing into overdrive? When was the last time you said this about your soul - admitting to God that you have waited too long to take nourishment from his Word, or have been waiting for what you think is too long to receive some desired answer from him related to something that has wearied your soul? The moment we recognize our desire is the moment we look for it to be satisfied, isn't it? When it comes to our God's care and love, we don't have to starve, but we do have to have an appetite! God won't starve an honest soul, but he frustrates the appetites of the wicked. (Proverbs 10:3) God won't starve an honest soul - the thought provokes us to consider what it is to "starve". What is it that Solomon could have been referring to when he spoke of the "starvation...