Spiritual Steroids

I wrote previously about my encounter with the poison ivy. Well, I ended up going to the doctor and getting some medicine. The doctor put me on a steroid to clear up the poison ivy. I think a side effect of the medicine has been an increase in my appetite. I can’t seem to get enough to eat. I don’t need that side effect so it’s a good thing that the medicine is only for five days.

What I was thinking of today was I wished there was a pill I could take that would make me hunger for God’s Word the way the steroid has made me hunger for physical food.

How do I create an Appetite for God?
I cannot maintain a strong, healthy appetite for God unless I give myself totally to Him – without reservation, with a singleness of mind and will. To do this I have to make a decisive, deliberate surrender of myself to God. Paul said we need to “offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” (Romans 12:1)

I need to meet with God regularly. Get started and make it a habit. Studies have shown that if you do something consistently for 30 days, it becomes a learned behavior – a habit. To hunger after God is to purposefully set aside time to meet with Him, to read His Word, and to pray.

Be obedient – My sinful nature can give me lots of reasons why I shouldn’t obey the plainly written Word of God. But, as a Christian, I am called to walk in the Spirit, not to walk after the flesh. By walking in the light, I will enjoy uninterrupted fellowship with God and maintain a spiritual appetite.

Pray honestly - A.W. Tozer once wrote that the only prayers that God responds to are honest prayers. There is so much phoniness in much of our praying because we ourselves are living a phony life.

Be humble before God. My devotional time is a time for gut wrenching honesty. Humble myself before Him. It’s a time for confessing my shortcomings, my lack of passion for God, my careless words, my bad attitudes, my lack of zeal and purpose. It is a time to quit pretending. It is a time to be transparent.

Abide in Christ continually – Practice the Presence of Christ
To learn to abide in Christ is one of the keys to a life of power and fruitfulness. To abide in Christ is to exchange my weaknesses for His strength; to exchange my inability for His ability; to exchange my self-reliance for his all-sufficiency; to exchange my independence for His power. I’ve heard of it being called “practicing the presence of Christ in your life.” I like the word practice. I need to continue to work on it, practice it, develop that attitude in my life.

Remember Jesus promised, " Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” (Matthew 5:6)