I'm Hungry

Psalm 119:31-40 (The Message)

Barricade the road that goes Nowhere; grace me with your clear revelation. I choose the true road to Somewhere, I post your road signs at every curve and corner. I grasp and cling to whatever you tell me; God, don't let me down! I'll run the course you lay out for me if you'll just show me how. God, teach me lessons for living so I can stay the course. Give me insight so I can do what you tell me—my whole life one long, obedient response. Guide me down the road of your commandments; I love traveling this freeway! Give me a bent for your words of wisdom, and not for piling up loot. Divert my eyes from toys and trinkets, invigorate me on the pilgrim way. Affirm your promises to me— promises made to all who fear you. Deflect the harsh words of my critics— but what you say is always so good. See how hungry I am for your counsel; preserve my life through your righteous ways!

IN PLAIN ENGLISH

After realizing how far I've come, how much progress I've made, and how wonderfully free I am, I want nothing more than to make sure I don't slip back into the ditch. God doesn't want me there either! Everything David asks for here is within God's will for not only his life, but for mine (and yours) as well. Earlier I found that obedience is just as much a decision in life as loving Tracye is. There may be times when I may not FEEL like loving her, but I CHOOSE to do it every minute of every day...because she deserves it...and so do I! Obedience and walking down the path that keeps me under His protection are choices that are easier to make with each day I live.

However, it's important not to forget that there are still things out there that want to trip me up. Only through consistent study of the Word and fellowshipping with Him can I ensure that not only my heart is established, but my mind begins to be renewed as well.



AS FOR ME

Ah, the secret...making the heart (spirit) and mind unified. There lies the hunger. As I walk daily in the wisdom He has given me; as I continue to walk in obedience; as I consistently follow His commandments, my spirit becomes HUNGRY for Him. My doctor told me once when we were discussing my weight loss that hunger is a GOOD thing. When your body tells you it's hungry, it's telling you that you have expended the energy it has stored and it is time to replace it. Right now, spiritually I'm ravenous! My spirit is telling me that I am needing more nourishment than just milk. I'm moving on to the meat of the Word, PRAISE GOD!

I really like this version of Psalm 119 where it talks about "divert my eyes from toys and trinkets" because the majority of my money issues falls with impulse spending. The last six weeks have been excruciatingly painful at times because my habitual flesh feels deprived that I can't (and won't) go out and indulge itself. But at the same time, there's a liberating feeling that goes along with controlling my flesh. All the time I've spent dodging creditors and "creating" money to pay bills with or do something I wanted to do, I did thinking I was in control. Now I realize that I wasn't in control. The money and the flesh were in control. For the first time, I know what true control means.

And it's not without rewards. Freedom from those bondages allows me to be free to worship and obey in ways that I've never experienced before. And I'm so hungry for more!!

Turn History Around

2 Chronicles 29: 10-11, 36 (The Message)

"I have decided to make a covenant with the God of Israel and turn history around so that God will no longer be angry with us. Children, don't drag your feet in this! God has chosen you to take your place before him to serve in conducting and leading worship—this is your life work; make sure you do it and do it well."

"Hezekiah and the congregation celebrated: God had established a firm foundation for the lives of the people—and so quickly!"

IN PLAIN ENGLISH

God responds to repentence. I love the fact that Hezekiah used the phrase "turn history around". God responds in such a way under the new testament that history is re-written...eradicating the old as if it never happened. I don't have to move forward and drag the old ways with me. My covenant truly turns history around; it changes history so that I have victory to build upon, not past mistakes. Every step I take in obedience today places me on that path outside of the ditch. I gain sure footing on solid ground. Then the next step is more solid. They build one upon the other. And I'm not doing it alone. God walks with me, encouraging me and loving me for my obedience. By following his voice, he tells me where to place each step, so that it is on a firm foundation and estabilishes my heart all the more.

AS FOR ME

Do I need this! My history has been one that has been filled with failure, strife, disappointment, disillusionment, pain, hopelessness, and I could go on-and-on. But to know that this is not my history any more is fantastic! Think about how the future is always dictated by the past. Your character and personality is made up of the experiences of the past. So in order for my future to be a reflection of who I am in Christ, my past has to show who I am in Christ. With Hezekiah, a new line had to be drawn in the sand. A point from which a new beginning had to take place. A point where no looking back was allowed.

With my covenant in Christ, when I look back, I see the same reflection backwards as I do forwards. I can't allow myself to see the failures and disappointments, but to see what and who I am now. For the first time, I can understand what it means to be free from the bondages of slavery to sin. I am totally free to walk in obedience. I can truly experience verse 36 and celebrate because the Lord has established a firm foundation for my life - and so quickly!

Ebb and Flow

2 Chronicles 29:10

Now I intend to make a covenant with the LORD, the God of Israel, so that his fierce anger will turn away from us."

2 Chronicles 31:20, 21

"This is what Hezekiah did throughout Judah, doing what was good and right and faithful before the LORD his God. In everything that he undertook in the service of God's temple and in obedience to the law and the commands, he sought his God and worked wholeheartedly. And so he prospered."

IN PLAIN ENGLISH

In reading these passages (and the chapters as a whole), you will see that Hezekiah purposed to turn the Isrealites around. For years, the nation of Isreal had done things in disobedience to the Lord and had turned their backs to the Lord. God had become angry with them. That lead to the desolation of the nation instead of the blessings God wanted to bestow. I love 29:10 where Hezekiah says that he will make a covenant with the Lord so that His fierce anger will turn from them. This is the verbal action of the heart of repentance. All the work that took place after that was the physical evidence of that repentance. As Hezekiah walked out the repentance of the nation, God's blessings began to flow again, restoring Isreal back to right standing. In 30:9b, Hezekiah tells the people that "He (God) will not turn His face from you if you return to Him." What a beautiful promise of redemption and restoration! And in 31:20, 21 you can see that the end result of repentance is restoration of God's blessings.

AS FOR ME

What joy this promise gives me! And how I can testify that it is true. The last week has been a bit of a struggle to keep up with the devotions as I started. It is so easy to allow the things of life to just edge back in. It's like trying to build up a wall on the beach to keep the tide at bay. You can eventually do it, but it takes perseverence and determination. When that water starts coming around the ends of the wall, just don't give up. Eventually the tide will ebb away and allow you to build more wall up so that the next time it flows in, you have a little more resistance.

The last couple of nights drove that home for me. On Tuesday night, I was telling my accountabilty buddy that I could see how my repentance had changed others in my life...Tracye and I have become united in working toward consecrating our relationship to the Lord as never before, my boys were becoming more solid in their walks, and my dad (who I'm praying will come back to the Lord soon) was filled with more joy and life than I have seen him in a long time. I know it may be presumptuous to assume I had anything to do with these other lives, but it bears witness in my spirit that the Lord is working in me and all my relationships.

Then last night Tracye and I had an issue come up that, on the surface, it appeared as if nothing we had worked for had made any difference. I tried to hold on to the spirit man on the inside of me but ended up just losing control and "fleshing out". Tracye went to bed upset with me...

This morning, we came back together and started the day with new beginnings and prayer. Then "BAM" this devotion hit me. It took Hezekiah a while to get the temple rebuilt; guess I can invest the same wholehearted attempt too. I know the resutls are going to be the same...God promised!