Monday, July 1, 2013

Crave the Lord by Ann Broughton



“As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God” (Psalm 42:1 NIV).

    Have you ever been extremely thirsty? I know I have felt this way when I am in the hot sun for awhile. Without water a person cannot live for long. I read that dehydration when you are overheated can happen within an hour. The reference above is related to how we are to thirst for the Lord’s influence in our lives, just as we are driven to drink water when we are thirsty. The need for Him and His presence in our lives should be what we pursue more than anything.
    I have just read a book that is so wonderful for those of us who have issues with craving certain foods (sugar for me). It is called Made to Crave by Lysa TerKeurst. She stated that we are to crave the Lord more than we crave anything and that if anything else takes first place instead of God, then it is not good. I happen to be a stress eater so whenever I get stressed I head for chocolate, cookies, etc. The book made me so aware that I need to be seeking the Lord’s help when I am stressed and not rely on food to self-medicate. Maybe you have this problem too, so I hope you will be inspired to not view food as something to help you with emotional issues. One verse that is helping me is, “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and finish his work” (John 4:34 NIV). Doing the will of the Lord has always been my purpose, and knowing that food has become a stumbling block has convicted me to really put God first in my life in everything.
    Is it hard for you to walk away from certain foods? If you said yes then you are being ruled by food on some level. We are truly supposed to eat to live and make healthy choices so that we can be healthy to do His will in our lives.
We are the temple of God and we each have a mission from God. It is so important to keep our temple healthy so we can finish the work God has prepared for us.
Dear Lord,
Help us as we strive to put you first in our lives. Help us to long for your presence more than anything, and turn to you when we are in emotional crisis instead of something that will only gratify us for a little while.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen  

Perseverance: A devotion by Ann Broughton

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