Meet this little
guy. He’s the fifth by age but he was the fourth one to physically
join our family. He is known as My Little Joy.
He has brought so
much joy and laughter to our family. He is a gift. A reminder that
God hears even the deepest prayers of our heart. God uses him to
remind me what childlike faith is and why I need it so desperately.
God also uses him to remind me I need to vacuum, to sweep and to feed him so
he will stop eating yesterdays leftovers from his highchair or under
the table. (still waiting on God to answer the deep prayer in my
heart for a maid!)
He’s not the
first child to exhibit this disgusting habit. He is simply a human
being with this drive to satisfy hunger, he just lacks a little
wisdom on deciphering between good food and three day old, nasty
food. After our fall break trip to the beach he digested sand for a
week because I guess sand tasted that good.
I recently
completed a fast. On any of those days if you asked me what I was
hungry for I would have replied, “What are you making?” I might
have even been tempted to join my son in searching for highchair
leftovers. (Ok maybe I wouldn’t stoop that low. But on Day 3 it
definitely would have crossed my mind.)
I don’t tell
you about my fast to sound like a Pharisee and make sure everyone
knows my “good deeds.” I tell you this because the discipline of fasting holds great treasures. I don’t just mean fasting social media
or television or even sweets. Those kinds of fasts are good and
helpful in our walk with the Lord but I am talking about a food fast. Yes, the one where you actually don't eat for extended periods of time. (Don't stop reading. I promise I won't take your dinner away.)
There are many benefits to fasting, that I honestly didn’t even
know about until my adulthood. I didn’t even know what fasting was
growing up. I was very intimidated by fasting and even thought it
wasn't possible or healthy for our physical bodies. I have learned
so much! I encourage you to dig into the Word and look up books on
fasting. It will challenge you, encourage you and awaken your spirit
to hunger for the deeper things of God.
While I could
talk about many reasons why I believe all Christians should fast, the one I want to
focus on today is hunger. In America, the majority of us have no
idea what it means to be hungry. I don’t just mean it’s an hour
past my lunch time kind of hunger or I didn’t eat anything but a
yogurt for breakfast kind of hunger. I mean hunger pains that make
you feel sick. Hunger that causes your head to ache and your body
feel like it can’t do anything but sit or lay and be still. My
body is completely reliant on three full meals a day and when I take
away one meal or two meals or don’t eat for a whole day it says,
“OK woman what are you DOING? We can’t function without three
meals and some snacks.” Our minds and bodies revolt when we don't
eat. Fasting hurts and its hard and inconvenient, especially when
you still have to cook three meals a day for the little people in
your house and then sit with them as they eat it and your belly
growls.
But fasting is
good. It’s so so good for my heart and soul. Those hunger pains
remind me I need something. When I don’t answer those pains with
physical food my spirit kicks in and says, feed me. For Jesus said,
“I have food to eat that you know nothing
about.” Fasting gives us that food! Hunger ushers us into
the deeper things of God. Hunger for Him and His word. Fasting
reminds me of how desperately I want Him just like my body is
desperate for food.
Do you have
everything you need today? If I asked you, “What do you
need today?” What would you say? If I asked you "What do you spend
most of your day doing?" What would the answer be?
This summer our
family participated in our church’s Family Sunday School. The
bible study we went through was created by Compassion International
called Walk in My Shoes. The four week study followed a family in
Uganda and people in other poverty stricken areas of the world, who are
lacking in food, water, safety, shelter, and education. We learned
many astonishing facts, such as how people, most of the time
children, walk thousands of steps each day to get water. Sometimes
it’s clean water from the well and other times it’s from a nearby
pond, lake or river, of which is shared with the local livestock. We
learned how some families ride their bicycles for a two hour round
trip to the market to buy food. How it is not uncommon for a family
of five or more to all live in a house often the size of just one of
the rooms in my home.
Our family was
asked to teach the last lesson of the study and by week three my
heart was already wrestling with how to teach our part. The lesson
plans had a few suggestions but I continued to feel Holy Spirit
asking me to listen, to hear what God was saying. What He wanted
everyone, including myself, to learn from this study.
As I was praying,
I asked the Lord, “What can we do to help these people? What can I
give? What can I encourage other people to give?”
The Lord’s
response was, as usual, completely absurd sounding upon first
hearing.
He said, “Yes
there are many things they need, but what do they have that you
need?”
“What? Lord,
what could I possible need from someone in a third world country?”
“My sweet
daughter, the poor have many things you do not have.”
And the light
bulb slowly turned on. “They have unexplainable joy, Lord.”
“Yes, what
else.”
“They have
faith that can move mountains.”
“Yes, and….”
“They love
their neighbors.”
“And….”
“They take time
to be in community.”
“Yes,”
“They treasure
the little they have.”
And then He was
silent. I think silently smiling like any parent does when they see
their child finally get it. When they know their child is not just
reciting the right answer but they KNOW it. It’s in their heart,
it’s part of who they are now.
I finally
understood. Yes, I have more than enough. More than enough food.
More than enough water. More than enough shelter, education, safety,
money, books, churches, the list goes on and on. But what do I lack?
Why do I
foolishly think I am fine. That I have everything I need. Because
without Jesus I am poor, blind and naked. My physcial body may look
healthy and alive but my spirit is wasting away.
As we learned in
our study, people in third world countries spend their entire day
working for what they need. Just like we work our jobs, take care of
our homes, go to school. We do those things to provide for our
needs. But not many of us are working because we know if we don’t
work today our family doesn’t eat tonight. We don’t worry if we don’t
walk miles to get clean water, our family will have nothing to drink
today. In other parts of the world people
spend all day searching for food, walking to clean water, working to
provide that evening’s meal.
What if I
searched like that? Not searching for food, water or shelter of
course. But what if I searched my excess of stuff? What if I
searched not because I wanted to bless others but searched because I
desperately want what they have? What if I searched my earthly
possessions, not to gain more but to give away because I don't have enough joy, contentment, kindness or faith? What if I searched for ways to simplify my house and
schedule so I have time to spend with the community of people God has
given to me? What if I searched for ways to eliminate all my Plan
B’s so Jesus becomes the first and final solution when trials come
my way? What if I searched for ways to ask people how they are
doing and then really stopped to listen? What if I searched my
more than enough, desperately looking for ways to give so I can gain
the kingdom? What if I searched like my fasting body searched for food? What if I searched as if my life depended on it;
because truthfully it does.
The night Jesus
was in Bethany eating with a group of leaders a woman came to him
with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on
his head. When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. “Why
this waste?” they asked. “This perfume could have been sold at a
high price and the money given to the poor.” Aware of this, Jesus
said to them, “Why are you bothering this
woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will
always have with you, but you will not always have me.”
I believe the
poor are God’s gift to us. To teach us. To remind us of what we
lack. Jesus wasn’t saying not to take care of the poor or forget
about them. He was pointing us back to what really matters. Because
His Kingdom is always upside down. The last will be first. The
humble will be exalted. God gives us examples in this world of those
who find him. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the
kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for
righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the pure in
heart, for they will see God. Jesus was telling them, telling us, seek Me. Find Me
while you still can.
Search your more
than enough today, search like your life depends on it. And then
give, uncluttered, downsize, and do whatever else the Holy Spirit
prompts you to do until you find Him. And the fruit of the Spirit is
love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness and self-control.
