Hungry for God; Starving for Time
The sky had been grey for days. It wrapped like a canopy, hanging low and moist and dismal. Turning my gaze from the outside to the in did little to improve the view. Like reruns of I Love Lucy that played in shades of grey on my grandmother's old TV, life between my four walls looked equally colorless.
Nothing was terribly wrong, but nothing was terribly right, either. Just blah.
Do you ever get discouraged for no apparent reason? Woman's Day blames it on hormones, and they may be right. Web MD diagnoses it as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), and there may be something to that as well. Many of us self-diagnose and decide we need comfort food to shake us out of our lethargy and moodiness.
What's your favorite comfort food? Pizza? A triple mocha frappuccino with extra whip? Potato chips? Or the always loved, often craved, and sometimes stashed chocolate?
As I pondered what my indulgence would be that day, I decided to try two new comfort foods. One was sweet, the other savory.
My first comfort food was even sweeter than honey:
"How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth," writes King David in Psalm 119:103. David was a man often chased by the demons of doubt, discouragement, and depression. To combat these dark forces, he feasted on the comfort food of God's Word. He fellowshiped with God's people, and sang worship songs to the Lord.
Filling his mind with biblical truth, especially the psalms of praise, was a powerful antidote for David's doldrums. Psalm 73 is a beautiful testimony of how focusing on God's truth instead of his circumstances completely restored David's perspective.
The second comfort food I chose to indulge in was also one of Jesus' favorites:
"My food," said Jesus, "is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work," (John 4:34).
Jesus knew what we accidentally stumble upon -- that we are most satisfied when we take our eyes off ourselves and place them squarely on God's work in the world. Instead of being inwardly focused, God calls us to turn our eyes outward, to his mission and ministry.
"Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus," says Philippians 2:4-5.
Dr. Gary Chapman puts it this way: "Happiness is the byproduct of giving your life away to help others. The happiest people in the world are the people who serve."
So next time you're suffering from the "Poor me" syndrome, or feeling discouraged or depressed, join me as I indulge in God's comfort food--sweet or savory, it's the most satisfying of all.
Best of all, it's calorie free :)
If you enjoyed this devotion, may I tell you about my new book, Hungry for God … Starving for Time, 5-Minute Devotions for Busy Women?
Today's women want to connect with God, but in the craziness of life, it’s just not happening. You want practical, biblical answers to situations you face every day, but you don’t have hours to pore over Scripture.
You need a resource that answers the questions you’re afraid to ask out loud. Questions like:
• Is my situation hopeless?
• If God already knows what he’s going to do, why bother to pray?
• Why have you allowed this to happen to me?
• No one appreciates what I do. Why shouldn’t I quit?
Each devotion begins with a Facetime question and ends with a biblical answer wrapped in a modern day parable. Like a spiritual power bar, Hungry for God … Starving for Time is packed with enough scriptural nutrition to get you through the day.
Wherever you are—in break rooms, carpool lines, or wherever you can snatch five minutes of quiet reflection—Hungry for God … Starving for Time, 5-Minute Devotions for Busy Women is for you.
Hungry for God is on Facebook! Will you take a moment and LIKE my page? CLICK HERE to help HFG share 5-minute devotions.
From the first crack to the final crash, I watched the collapse of the historic building. Granted, it was a movie, and the marble and stone were more likely Styrofoam and chicken wire, but the implosion was impressive.
As one crack led to two and a single crumbling pillar became an entire building teetering on destruction, I couldn’t help but parallel the movie scene with life. Sometimes our world seems as if it’s sliding into an abyss from which it can never climb out.
Terrorism, political unrest, and societal disunity sound their doomsday cries from every news show. Struggling marriages, prodigal children, cancer, and sin discourage and defeat us.
And if threats from without aren’t enough, the voices from within steal our sleep and hound our days:
This is hopeless. Why keep trying? It’ll never get any better.
This is so bad, even God can’t fix this.
And the worst: If God loves us, why is this happening?
Sadly, the world has continued its march toward destruction since Eve took that first bite in the Garden.
But there is hope. Glorious hope.
God sees.
God hears.
God is intimately acquainted with all our ways.
And though we won’t see an end to the effects of sin in this life, we don’t have to wait until eternity to live victoriously.
Jehoshaphat was a man much like us. He loved God and wanted to honor him. In 2 Chronicles 20, he leaps from the pages as a man who could thoroughly understand the challenges of our day.
As the chapter opens, he’s got a problem bigger than the long-range missiles of North Korea. Scarier than than the Democrats fighting the Republicans. More destructive than the warring factions of our families.
Two huge armies with enough weapons and manpower to destroy the nation were knocking at his back door.
And “Jehoshaphat feared.”
Sometimes I fear, too.
This is why I’m thankful that, thousands of years after this event occurred, godly King Jehoshaphat still shows us what to do when fear comes knocking.
1. Go to God first.
“Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the LORD. . .”
Going to God first acknowledges that he is our primary source of help and deliverance. Not our family. Not our friends. Not even our church or fellow believers. And while God will often use others to deliver us, he alone is the source.
2. Consider fasting. Invite other believers who share your same concerns to fast with you.
“. . . and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah. The people of Judah came together to seek help from the Lord”
As Jennifer Kennedy Dean, in Live a Praying Life, says, “Fasting is not a last-ditch effort to get through to God. Instead, it sharpens our spiritual senses so that God can get through to us.”
3. Remember what God has done for you in the past.
“Then Jehoshaphat stood up in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem at the temple of the LORD in the front of the new courtyard and said: ‘O LORD, God of our fathers, are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you. O our God, did you not drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend?
When we recount God’s faithfulness, Dean says, “we allow God to build a foothold for our faith.”
4. Acknowledge your helplessness.
“We have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us,” Jehoshaphat said.
It is in our times of absolute helplessness that God is most able to work. When we are totally dependent on him, he alone gets the glory for the victory.
5. Throw yourself on God’s mercy and stake your trust.
“We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you," Jehoshaphat prayed.
James 1:5 reminds us, “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.” But we must ask in absolute faith that God has the power to do what is best in our situation. “He must believe and not doubt,” James 1:6 says, “because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord.”
6. Praise God for the answer that is coming.
“Jehoshaphat bowed with his face to the ground, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down in worship before the LORD. Then some Levites from the Kohathites and Korahites stood up and praised the LORD, the God of Israel.”
Praising God before the victory seems ludicrous and presumptuous, but if we believe the historical record of Scripture that tells us God works all things together for our good and his glory (Rom. 8:28), then we can praise him. Even though we don’t know how the matter will resolve.
“It’s not necessary,” Dean says, "to know how God is going to act to have faith.We stake our trust not in the outcome we hope for, but in the God who promises, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.”
Jehoshaphat’s victory can be ours as well. Listen to the Lord’s promise:
“Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God's. . . .You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the LORD will give you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the LORD will be with you.”
I don’t know what battle you’re facing today, but the same God who fought for Jehoshaphat and the children of Judah fights for you. When fear and discouragement clamp their icy hands around your heart, go to God. Consider fasting. Remember what he’s done for you in the past. Acknowledge your helplessness. Throw yourself on his mercy, and praise him in advance for the victory.
May God be glorified in and through your struggle.
Now it's your turn. How has God shown himself mighty on your behalf when circumstances seemed hopeless? Leave a comment below and share your story.
Every year a springtime extravaganza spills from the gardens of Heaven and splashes onto my hometown of Columbia, South Carolina.
Yellow forsythia bushes whisper from the hedges that Mistress Spring has begun her approach. Trumpeting daffodils echo the note and pass the news, circling trees, edging sidewalks, and clustering around mailboxes, their heads bobbing in conversation.
Excitement builds as the stately Japanese magnolia, a willowy wisp of elegance, dons her prettiest pink and scatters petals in tribute. Dogwood trees spread a lacy canopy above the gathering. And then, like guests at a grand ball, the azaleas arrive. Dressed in their finest, they curtsy to their neighbors and take their places, nodding their pink, purple, and white heads to their fellow debutantes.
Springtime is powerful medicine.
Every whiff of floral sweetness infuses hope into weary, winter-worn souls. Discouragement’s icy grip loosens. Apathy gives way to inspiration and ambition, and hearts begin to dream again.
My grandmother used to pass long winters by planning her spring vegetable garden. “It’s what gets her through,” her kids acknowledged, and I understand. The hope of spring in the dead of winter is what gets me through, too.
Sometimes spring comes early, like this year in South Carolina. Other years have left me wondering if budget cuts cancelled the parade. But spring always comes—a testimony to God’s faithfulness.
I don’t know what season it is in your life. Perhaps death, disease, betrayal, or depression holds you in a Narnian land where “it’s always winter but never Christmas.” Take heart. Just as our faithful Father ushers in spring every year without fail, so will he bring beauty to your season of barrenness.
Hold on.
Spring is coming.
He promised.
"As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease” (Gen. 8:22).
What makes you think anyone would want to read anything you write?
You think that’s original? Ann Voskamp’s already said it—better. And with pictures.
Other bloggers write long posts about big issues. Who are you kidding? You’re not even in the same league.
Have you ever had a morning when you were defeated before you even got out of bed? When the voices whispered so persistently you couldn’t even mount a protest? When you questioned your calling, your ministry, maybe even your existence? Any success you may have enjoyed in the past was just a colorless memory, like an old black and white newsreel, and the motivation to do the next thing just wasn’t there?
Times like these don’t come often to me, but on hormonal days when the sun doesn’t shine and my feelings are tender, they have the power to get me down. Like cockroaches too cowardly to come into the light, they scuttle along the baseboards of my mind hindering my progress and distorting my perspective.
Here in the South where Palmetto bugs are four inches long and big enough that we can hear their footsteps, we keep a can of Raid nearby at all times. Similarly, we should keep our spiritual insecticide within arms’ reach.
The insecticide for cockroach comments like the ones I listed above? The Word of God.
When I reached for it, the Word was alive and powerful. Like sitting down with an encouraging friend, my time in God’s Word was just what I needed to banish the dark clouds of doubt and discouragement.
As I read in The One Year Bible, I read the story of Elijah.
A bold prophet who had stood up to evil King Ahab, called fire down from heaven, and slayed the evil prophets of Baal, Elijah was riding the wave of the miraculous. Convinced that the supernatural events he had witnessed would win over Ahab and his wicked wife Jezebel, he was shocked to receive this message from the royal palace:
So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of (the prophets) by tomorrow about this time (1 Kings 19:2).
Frightened and confused, Elijah ran.
Far far away.
And prayed that he might die.
“It is enough! Now, Lord, take my life . . .”
You know what God did?
He didn’t scold him, nor did he pity him.
He fed him. He granted him sleep. He listened to his complaints, and then, as only God can do, he reminded Elijah of three things:
1. I am God.
2. You are not.
3. You are not alone.
Through a tornado-like wind, he showed Elijah his power. Through a ground-shattering earthquake, he demonstrated his control. Through a raging fire, he reminded Elijah of his judgment.
And then, in a still, small voice, he showed Elijah that he was quietly, sometimes imperceptibly, at work in Israel.
“You are not alone, Elijah,” God said. “There are 7,000 men whose knees haven’t bowed to Baal.”
“Now get up, dust yourself off and get going. I have work for you to do.”
In January, my friend Jean emailed me:
“My dear friend who is in prison wrote me and said:
Each morning I start my day with three daily devotionals. Hungry for God, Starving for Time is unequivocally my favorite. When information is enveloped in narrative, I tend to remember what I’ve read. Lori’s antidotes are comedic, metaphorically graphic, and rich with a message universally relevant to a believer’s intent to incorporate God’s wisdom into their daily walk. Thank you so much for the book. It has had an impact already. I share it with Lorena (her cell mate) and she appreciates it equally.”
In February, my friend Debbie brought five copies of my book, Hungry for God … Starving for Time, to Kenya. She gave one to Sister Freda, a brave, dedicated sister in Christ who has founded a preschool, clinic, a girls high school, and a nursing school.
In May, I received this email from Andrea, a young woman ministering to Navy wives in Japan through Cadence International:
I have been enjoying your devotional book. I think it is something the women could benefit from … Thank you for being willing to donate copies to our ministry.
And recently I found these kind words in my Inbox from Sharon, a woman I met at one of my Praying with Power conferences who works with Women at the Well Ministries of PA:
My one new idea from your seminar was to pray first, and read the Bible second, looking for answers in my reading. It’s taking a while to get used to making this change, but I am gaining insight and answers from this switch. Yes, you can teach old dogs new tricks if they want to learn!
I have especially enjoyed the two devotions that came out this week. The post on sex and violence spoke to my heart, and reconfirmed some of the limitations I place on things we read and watch. Thank you for your prayers and your ministry of encouragement. I look forward to another time when we can meet. In the meantime, keep writing those great devos!
God, in his still, small voice, used Elijah and these women to remind me,
He is God,
I am not,
and I am not alone.
Author/speaker Alton Gansky says this,
"When you write for God, and you really mean it . . . your work may never show up on the shelves of Lifeway. It may never find its way into bound print at all. But when you write for God, when you write with the heart of a servant . . . you may find that your words are only meant for the guy sitting next to you. If you can accept this . . . live with it . . . grasp it . . . then you can truly write for God."
Why do I write, even when I’m afraid no one’s reading?
Because God has called me to.
What has God called you to?
Are you questioning your calling, your ministry, perhaps even your existence? Struggling soul, be faithful, even when the voices cry loudly, no one appreciates you, and you want to quit. Press on. The harvest is coming.
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Gal. 6:9).
You want to connect with God, but in the craziness of life, it’s just not happening. You want practical, biblical answers to situations you face every day, but you don’t have hours to pore over Scripture.
You need a resource that answers the questions you’re afraid to ask out loud. Questions like:
• Is my situation hopeless?
• If God already knows what he’s going to do, why bother to pray?
• Why have you allowed this to happen to me?
• No one appreciates what I do. Why shouldn’t I quit?
Each devotion begins with a Facetime question and ends with a biblical answer wrapped in a modern day parable. Like a spiritual power bar, Hungry for God … Starving for Time is packed with enough scriptural nutrition to get you through the day.
Wherever you are—in break rooms, carpool lines, or wherever you can snatch five minutes of quiet reflection—Hungry for God … Starving for Time, 5-Minute Devotions for Busy Women is for you.
Hungry for God is on Facebook! Will you take a moment and LIKE my page? CLICK HERE to help HFG share 5-minute devotions.
