August 28, 2019

“Nancy lost 22 pounds with nutriweight. Sam lost 14 inches with fatBgone. Corey went down 6 pant sizes with never-eat!” So often we see those commercials or read those headlines – maybe we have even done a few. More often than not, these fad diets might take the weight off, but after a few weeks of not eating much, we give up, and the weight comes back and brings its friends. That’s because our bodies need food. Daily. We know that. Food gives energy and strength. It’s what kind of food we put in that makes our bodies healthy. “Lifestyle changes” are becoming more common than dieting because when you switch your mindset to food being fuel, and commit to improving the quality of what you are putting in, it makes lasting changes. This is probably old news for you-because almost every woman thinks about this a lot.

The question we need to think about more is: what am I eating spiritually? God’s Word ought to be more important to us than meeting our everyday needs like food and drink. Do we give God’s Word the same amount of attention we give to our body’s daily food?

The Bible says, “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow in your salvation” (1 Peter 2:2). This verse uses a word picture that compares God’s Word with daily food that we need to survive. How many times a day do newborn babies eat? We all know well – every few hours they are guzzling down the good stuff. “Pure” food means the “real thing,” food that is not just fake or unsatisfying. We can be sure that God’s Word is satisfying, rich, and very, very good. “O taste and see that the LORD is good” (Psalm 34:8). So often we fill ourselves with spiritual junk food like bad influences, poor music or tv choices, or negative self talk, or other times we starve ourselves of anything good or bad because we “just don’t have the time!”

But how do you get the “daily food” of God’s Word? When we eat breakfast, lunch, and supper, we are meeting our physical needs. When we read the Bible and meet together to discuss it we are feeding our spiritual needs. Just as you must eat to stay strong, so you must read and “digest” God’s Word daily so that you can be spiritually “healthy.”

Maybe making the Bible that much a part of your regular spiritual “diet” just sounds like way too much of a time commitment right now. Think about how important your spiritual health is, even compared to your physical health! For example, would you ever treat your daily mealtimes with as little concern as you do your quiet time with God? Would you ever say, “Hmm. Tomorrow is going to be a really busy day for me. Maybe I should just skip breakfast, lunch, and supper! Sure! After all, it will save time, and I will definitely remember to eat the day after that!” I know that sometimes as moms that can happen because we are so busy – but soon we remember that we get tired and hangry, and your body would be even weaker and less ready to do what you needed to get done!

But that is what many Christians do in the spiritual sense. They think, “I can wait on this,” or “I can skip today, no problem–I’ll just start reading and praying again tomorrow, or sometime next week when I have more time. I haven’t been getting much out of church anyways, what with the kids climbing everywhere and being loud, it’s just easier to be home for once during our busy weekend.”

We are at the busiest stage of our lives. The work is never ending. The cooking, the laundry, the homework helping, the hand holding, the potty training, the driving to sports and music lessons and dance and clubs and the doctor and on and on and on. We do so much for our kids. But the most important thing that we can teach them- that making time for God, reading his word, praying to him, meeting together, encouraging each other, all of these things are number one. Studies show that the routines that we set with our kids for going to church by age 5 is often the same routine they will keep for the rest of their lives. Now is the time to set that example.

We are so often Marthas when we need to be Marys. We so often starve ourselves to be “good” moms who look like they have it all together. We keep up with the Joneses instead of slowing down with Jesus. We are so often trying to keep up with the pinterest world that we forget to prepare ourselves for the perfect heaven. I’m so guilty of this – three months ago I started a “read the Bible in 2 years, just 15 minutes a day” schedule and I haven’t even finished Exodus, but my Bible has gotten dustier… So I just praise God for his forgiveness and for his strength in doing better.

So this is week one of a new school year. My prayer for us this year is that we can commit to making this a priority. That we can treasure the words of God’s mouth more than our daily bread like it says in Job 23. That we can lean on each other for support and keep each other accountable in what we are learning more about. That we can show ourselves grace because God does, and we can strive to keep God at the center of our crazy busy lives. We are so blessed to have this group, this little tribe of sisters in Christ, who can be a quiet moment of peace in an otherwise chaotic world.

What makes you excited about starting fresh this year?

What keeps you from being fed spiritually?

What commandment does this pertain to?

what one change can you make this week to prioritize God in your life? In your family’s life?