If spending time with God in the morning could be like
having breakfast with him, which of these would best describe your response to
his invitation?
The I-don’t-do-breakfast Approach:
Nothing more to say. Some people just don’t want to have
breakfast for their soul, even if God is there.
The Menu Approach:
You are quite content to read God’s word like a menu,
speaking of things God could do in your life, and leave your time with God
having ordered nothing of his promises and purposes for your life. The thought
of what he could do is enough to get you through the day.
The Aroma Approach:
For this person, it is enough to go and sit in the kitchen
for a while, enjoying all the aromas of the food as it is cooking, and
imagining how good the food would be for anyone who ordered it. You have a wild
imagination as it is, so the aromas fueling your imagination seem to suffice.
The Finger-in-the-icing Approach:
Some people want nothing more from God than to get alone
with him and run their fingers through the icing on the cake. They have no
interest in what God might wish to give them for a meal, but only to dabble in
whatever thoughts from his word appeal to their sweet tooth with all its whims
and wishes intact.
The Tub-of-ice-cream Approach:
In this approach to God, the person appears to have an insatiable
appetite for his word. They always seem to be hungry, with deep hunger-needs
always staring them in the face, and all he or she wants is to gorge themselves
on comforting thoughts from God’s Book. As someone who suddenly sees themselves
looking down into the bottom of any empty ice cream container wondering how
they devoured the whole things while watching mindless TV, this person gets to
the end of his or her time with God and feels just as unsatisfied as when they
started. The ice cream is never enough. Oh well, there’s always tomorrow.
The Full-meal-deal-drive-thru Approach:
This customer of God’s word would like to get as much food
stuffed into his or her soul as quickly as can be with the lowest possible
cost. Nutrition does not matter, only that the ravenous hunger is speedily
satisfied so the person can carry on without thinking anything further of
needing anything from God.
The Picky-eater Approach:
Those in this category consider God’s word like a buffet
from which they can pick-and-choose whatever interests them. They do not want
to know what their heavenly Father thinks is a healthy and balanced diet, but
only which parts of his provisions makes them feel good all the time.
The Grazer Approach:
This child isn’t opposed to eating a bit of everything, as
long as it is only what and when he or she desires at any given time. Sitting
down to a full course meal with Father is an unthinkable interruption to all
the fun they are having, and they only want to stop for a quick bite when their
hunger interferes with their entertainment.
The Hearty-lone-ranger-breakfast Approach:
This person would like a healthy breakfast, but prefers
starting the day alone rather than spending time with Father. They like it if
he serves them everything they need on a platter, and then leaves them alone to
enjoy it at their own speed, with their own thoughts and considerations, and
then ride out into the world to save the day in their own strength.
The Hearty-breakfast-with-Father Approach:
This person wants to have a full meal breakfast with Father,
simple as that. The Father-child relationship makes the enjoyment of Father’s
provisions what it is. Feeding on his words, while hearing them in his own voice,
expressed through his own presence, turns the meal into something far more than
nutrition. It is time alone with God that strengthens the child to walk with
God throughout the whole day.
I have no doubt that readers will see other ways to express
these things. I present them simply to draw attention to the best way of
seeking God each day, which is the heart cry of God’s children, “Satisfy us in the morning with your
steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.”[1]
If you would like to spend time with God in a way that feels
like meeting with him is the best food for your soul, echo this prayer given to
us in God’s Book, “Let me hear in the
morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I
should go, for to you I lift up my soul.”[2]
God promises to answer such prayers as this. He may need to
point out how malnourished you are, and perhaps address some untended injuries
to your soul, but, as one man declared when forced to see the ugliness of the
human condition,
The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end;they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”[3]
© 2016 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517,
Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8 ~ in2freedom@gmail.com
Unless otherwise noted,
Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English
Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good
News Publishers.)
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