Daily Bread

[Maryanne Winder Lester]

Daily Bread

Every morning when I wake up, I sit down at my computer to read my Daily Devotionals. I subscribe online to a dozen or so. I crave them and need them to start my day the same way I need my cup of coffee! This morning there was a special devotional that actually addressed this need and I want to share it with you. They don’t call this “Daily Bread” for nothing! Please enjoy the writing of Gwen Smith.

April 26, 2010

Constant Cravings

Gwen Smith

Today's Truth
"Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days" (Psalm 90:14, NIV).

Friend To Friend
A friend of mine is hypoglycemic. Before he was diagnosed, he had one compelling symptom. He was constantly thirsty. Now the crazy thing was, the more water he drank, the thirstier he became. It defies logic. As you live out your faith, you will have a similar insatiable thirst and hunger for God. The more you ask for His daily help, the more you will want it. But know this, friend, you will not be fully satisfied or quenched until you are in His presence.

In his book, Come Thirsty, Max Lucado writes:

You're acquainted with physical thirst. Stop drinking and see what happens. Coherent thoughts vanish, skin grows clammy, and vital organs shut down. Deprive your body of necessary fluid, and it will tell you.

Deprive your soul of spiritual water, and it will tell you. Dehydrated hearts send desperate messages. Snarling tempers. Waves of worry. Growing guilt and fear. Hopelessness. Resentment. Loneliness. Insecurity.

But you don't have to live with a dehydrated heart. God invites you to treat your thirsty soul as you would treat your physical thirst. Just visit the WELL and drink deeply.

Here on earth, hunger and thirst never end. Just because you ate breakfast this morning doesn't mean you won't have a grumbling tummy at lunchtime. And when you eat lunch, that doesn't cover you for the next three days. You need to eat again and again.

The spiritual parallels here are as rich as a piece of Ghirardelli cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory. (Great restaurant, by the way!) A three-course meal of worship, prayer, and a sermon on Sunday morning doesn't nourish your body with the spiritual calories you need for an entire week. Not by a long stretch. We were designed in the image of God, for God. We were made to worship and to respond to the glory of God; to know Him. Continually. Daily. Without ceasing.

I don't know about you, but hunger affects my judgment. If I dare go to the grocery store while I'm hungry, my cart will usually contain extra food items I wouldn't normally purchase. Are you smellin' what I'm cookin' here? If I'm hungry when I arrive at a dinner party, I'll more than likely eat the mother lode of appetizers (especially if there is dip involved).

When we are spiritually hungry, the same truth applies. We have a tendency to compromise our judgment and set aside our convictions. We grumble and complain about our lives. We look to other people and other stuff to meet our needs. Yadda, yadda...

BEING SPIRITUALLY THIN IS SO NOT IN!

Look around! Spiritually hungry people are everywhere. Just turn on your television, pick up a magazine, or go to an online chat-room. People are desperately trying to fill their hunger ... trying to find happiness and satisfaction in things, status, and people.

Now, if you dare, look even closer to home. Look at your PTA meetings, boardrooms, Little League fields, and malls. And, if you're really brave, look in the mirror. Each one of us sees a hungry person staring us in the face.

It is really important to turn to the Bread of Life at the first inkling of hunger pains. Go to Him with your needs and give Him your burdens. Jesus said: "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28). He wants to meet you at the point of your need.

God gave you an open invitation to come to Him when He said through the prophet Isaiah,

"Come, all who are thirsty,
come to the waters;

and you who have no money,
come, buy and eat!"
(Isaiah 55:1a, NIV)

Each time we connect with God throughout the day, our souls are nourished. Sometimes we just need a small spiritual meal. Sometimes our needs are greater. In those moments, we are invited by our compassionate God to sit down to a great big dinner. How are you handling your constant cravings?

Let's Pray
Dear God, thank You for the invitation to come, eat, drink, and be satisfied in You. You are all that I need, and more than enough. I pray that You will bear the weight of the burdens on my heart today, and I ask that You would fill my soul with Your rest. Finally, please increase my cravings for You, Lord - so that you can be glorified in and through my life.

In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Now It's Your Turn

· Spending time with the Lord through His Word is one great way to feed your soul. Read and meditate on Psalm 63:1-8.

· Read it silently the first time, then read it again out loud.

· When have you witnessed God's power in your life? Thank Him!

More From The Girlfriends Although your physical cravings might include dark chocolate, coffee, and warm, fresh bread - your soul constantly craves intimacy with God. Spend some time worshiping Him today. Sing to Him!

Today's devotion is an excerpt from Gwen Smith's book, Broken into Beautiful. In Broken into Beautiful, Smith invites you to hear the stories of women with shattered dreams, shameful secrets, and damaged souls ... and of the loving, holy God who restores their wounded hearts and makes them beautiful in Him.