Spiritual Starvation

   Without really saying, anybody that is living right now knows food and water are vital to our bodies and existence. Food gives us nourishment and nutrients, and water is even more important as 60% of our bodies is water and needs constant hydration. Without getting into the specifics, I’ll just let it rest right there and assume we are all in agreement with this. If you have any doubts, just go without either or both for a while and watch and feel the effects.

   Jesus stressed several times that “life is more than food” (Ref. Luke 12:23) and that we shouldn’t worry about what we should eat or drink. What!?!? Don’t worry! Are there more important things to worry about? Must be, because it was brought up several times in the Bible. But He was using this as a comparison, not that we should neglect eating or drinking. In John 6:27 He said “Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.”

   We sometimes put our spirits on a starvation diet and neglect to read the Word. Even though our spirits cry out in hunger pains and are empty, we neglect to open the Word in which a feast is waiting there for us. We wonder why things are seemingly harder than usual. Why we feel weak and almost ill, and then we realize the pains we have are because we haven’t fed ourselves God’s Word.

   I don’t know about you, but when I’m away from the Word for a while I can feel an emptiness. My spirit get’s shriveled up and longs for nourishment. When I don’t pray for a while I get dried up and the cares of the world take over as I forget who has the solutions to my problems. The land around me is parched and my prayer life is the replenishment for it. I know I can’t be the only one that forgets to read the Word and pray, or don’t make time for it. Yes, I know as an Elder, a Minister, a man of God, and I’m supposed to be perfect all the time and be bulletproof. But I also wear the same flesh as everyone else.

   As I was praying the other day these words came out of my mouth and I had to stop the prayer right there and write this down. It was like this came out of nowhere, but it was the Spirit speaking. This is what was spoken… 

As food and water is to our body, the Word of God and prayer should be to our spirit.

   We need food and water daily to survive in the flesh, this is true without any arguing. Our spirits strive like our bodies do. Maybe even more so. We exert energy but not physically, but in the spirit realm. We fight with temptations. Oppression. Depression.… and at the end of the day we are spiritually drained, but do we load up with spiritual fuel through God’s Word and with prayer? Not always. It has been said that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and we can apply that spiritually too. Our most important meal is waiting. Let’s partake with joy! For Jesus gives us food which endures to everlasting life. Let’s eat and drink of it.

Blessings!
Elder Steve Smith