The Fat of God's Love

Scripture: "O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek You. My soul thirsts for You; my flesh faints for You, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water." Psalm 63:1

 

Tired?

You're probably tired. How do I know that? Because everyone is tired today. I am tired! The media, the to-do lists, the children, the job, the ministry, the hopes, the emotions...by the end of the day (or maybe by 10 am!), you're wiped! And if you're anything like me, your deep, desperate question is: How can I find the thing that is going to really, truly nourish me?

 

Unfulfilled

And that's a great question. I used to have this stockpile of things I would do when I got overwhelmed: read magazines, go shopping, watch a movie...all distractors. They didn't really solve my problem; they just distracted me from them for a while. But then, those things stopped working! Because I wasn't really feeding my true hunger. It's like I was starving for protein, but I just kept eating more and more potato chips. I was full, but not satisfied. And God knows all about this; He says here:

Is anyone thirsty? Come and drink—even if you have no money! Come, take your choice of wine or milk—it’s all free! Why spend your money on food that does not give you strength? Why pay for food that does you no good? Listen to Me, and you will eat what is good. You will enjoy the finest food." (Isaiah 55:1-2)

 

True Nourishment

Good food that truly nourishes you. That's the kind of life Jesus promises you in John 10:10. He said, "My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life." So what really satisfies? I have recently been studying nutrition, mainly because I haven't felt very well lately. And I came upon research that suggests that you really need a certain amount of healthy fat in your diet (like olive oil, fish, etc.) for your body to work the way it should. Fat actually makes you feel full and nourishes your body. I had not been eating that much good fat—eating all these other things instead—and I think my body was kind of starving. Do you feel this way emotionally and spiritually?

 

Two Women...Which are You?

Here's a picture of two women who were both filling themselves, but one ended up full, and the other still wasn't satisfied. I want you to see who you most relate with:

"As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what He taught. But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.” But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her." (Luke 10:38-42)

The Fat of Life

Just one thing to be concerned about: and that was filling up with the words and presence of Jesus. In your life, as with Martha, there are a million pressures that tell you they're most important: making money, looking good, having that relationship, getting to the next "level." But what Jesus is saying here is that those things don't matter. They are the potato chips, but He is the fat. David said, "Because Your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise You. My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food." Psalm 63:3,5 If you've been living like Martha (and I know I have!), having Jesus in your home but not really experiencing Him, He is inviting you to be a Mary today. Jesus wants to satisfy you with the fat of His love and a living, breathing relationship with Him.

 

First Step

The first step is just to sit down in His presence, like Mary. Read His word in the Bible. Tell Him how you feel and what you need. It's a relationship, and God wants to relate with you. Will you give Him some of your time this week? Will you ask Him to help you become more of a Mary and less of a Martha? If so, write a prayer to God in the Comments asking Him to help you be a Mary. He has a place right by His feet for you to come and listen to His satisfying words and begin to give you the rest you are really looking for.

Just Add Oil

Scripture: "Until at last the Spirit is poured out on us from heaven. Then the wilderness will become a fertile field, and the fertile field will yield bountiful crops." Isaiah 32:15

Dry and Lifeless?

Do you feel really dry in life? Like you don't want to get out of bed some days, or you don't have enough supply to meet all your demands? I know how you feel. Life can be really hard: People can drain and hurt us; and things definitely don't always go the way we planned. This can all leave us dry and lifeless. But God wants to restore the dry places in your life and even give you even more vibrance than you have ever yet experienced. And He wants to start today.

The Bread of Your Life

I want you to imagine a piece of bread: dry, crusty, with zero flavor. Does that describe how you feel? Maybe it's a lifeless marriage, a life sucked dry from addiction, or the passing by of dreams that never happened. When I read your comments and stories, I hear the pain that life has brought you, but I also hear the hope you still have. And that hope is from God. Because as I read the Bible and walk with God myself, I know that He is the master at bringing the dead back to life. So I want you to imagine that same piece of bread—dry and stale—having oil poured all over it, filling every crevice and moistening every dry spot. Can you imagine biting into that bread now? The flavor is back, and it is soft and delicious.

God's Oil

That is what God wants to do with your life by the power of His Spirit. In the Bible, God's Spirit is described as oil: "So as David stood there among his brothers, Samuel took the flask of olive oil he had brought and anointed David with the oil. And the Spirit of the LORD came powerfully upon David from that day on." 1 Samuel 16:13 Think of the powerful properties of oil: it heals wounds, makes anything taste better, and get things unstuck, to name a few. If you are wounded, God wants to heal you. If you are lifeless, God wants to bring back the flavor. And if you feel "stuck", God wants to pour out His Spirit on you and get you free. Just like with David, God wants to anoint you today and let you experience the life-giving power of the oil of His Spirit.

Back from the Dead

Let's read this story of a widow who had nothing left, because I believe God wants to do something similar in your life:

"One day the widow of a member of the group of prophets came to Elisha and cried out, 'My husband who served you is dead, and you know how he feared the Lord. But now a creditor has come, threatening to take my two sons as slaves.' 'What can I do to help you?' Elisha asked. 'Tell me, what do you have in the house?' 'Nothing at all, except a flask of olive oil,' she replied. And Elisha said, 'Borrow as many empty jars as you can from your friends and neighbors. Then go into your house with your sons and shut the door behind you. Pour olive oil from your flask into the jars, setting each one aside when it is filled.' So she did as she was told. Her sons kept bringing jars to her, and she filled one after another. Soon every container was full to the brim! 'Bring me another jar,' she said to one of her sons. 'There aren’t any more!' he told her. And then the olive oil stopped flowing. When she told the man of God what had happened, he said to her, 'Now sell the olive oil and pay your debts, and you and your sons can live on what is left over.'" (2 Kings 4:1-7)

Unlimited

There is no limit to God's Spirit, and He wants to pour it into every dry crevice of your life—starting today. I want you to imagine each dry area of your life as an empty jar. Line the jars up in your mind and label each one. Maybe one is labeled family; one future; one health; one past memories; so on and so forth. Just like the widow, you can have as many jars filled as you can find. Now I want you to imagine the Lord God Himself filling each jar to the brim with the oil of His Holy Spirit, so much so that they are overflowing. "You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings." Psalm 23:5

Bring Your Jars

That's what He wants to do for you starting today. He wants you to bring Him every jar of your life—no matter if they have always been empty—to be filled with the oil of His Spirit. Your dry relationships, sick body, tired spirit, and dried-up dreams: He wants to nourish them all, giving them flavor and life—just like a dry piece of bread soaked in olive oil. When you bring your jars to the Lord to fill, here are some of the things that will happen:

• You will have new vision: "Then, after doing all those things, I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your old men will dream dreams, and your young men will see visions." Joel 2:28
• Your depression will turn to joy: "To all who mourn in Israel, He will give a crown of beauty for ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair." Isaiah 61:3
• You will be able to obey God better: "And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws." Ezekiel 36:27
• You will experience God in a closer way: "'I will no longer hide my face from them, for I will pour out my Spirit on the house of Israel,' declares the Sovereign Lord." Ezekiel 39:29

Start Today

Tell God the names of your empty jars in the Comments below. Ask Him to fill them with His life-giving Spirit. As you go through your week and experience dry areas, ask God, "Will You pour oil on this?" He promises He will! Jesus said, "How much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him." Luke 11:13

Get Out of Jail Free

Are You in Prison?

Do you feel like you are in a prison? Maybe it's the prison of an addiction, a fear, or a past memory. I know how you feel. I have felt chained to events and feelings for years, and they have held me back. But the Bible talks about a powerful way to break out of prison. And It's free! Listen to this story about Paul and Silas, two Christian men who were thrown in prison for telling people about Jesus. Instead of getting bitter or depressed, listen to what they do:

"Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening. Suddenly, there was a massive earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations. All the doors immediately flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off!" Acts 16:25-26

The Power of Worship

Paul and Silas worshiped, and it broke them out of prison. You see, worship has the capacity to break you free--no matter how long you've been bound. But it really, really matters what or who you worship. For years, I worshiped appearance, relationships, acceptance, and addictions. They were the things I sought with all my time, the things I looked to fill me. In essence, they were my gods. Can you relate? But they were dead, and the Bible teaches that you become like what you worship:

"But their idols are silver and gold, made by the hands of men. They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but they cannot see; they have ears, but cannot hear, noses, but they cannot smell; they have hands, but cannot feel, feet, but they cannot walk; nor can they utter a sound with their throats. Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them." Psalm 115:4-8

Worship the Living God

If you worship something dead, you will become dead inside. But if you worship something—Someone—that is alive, you will become alive inside too. Jesus said, "So He is the God of the living, not the dead, for they are all alive to Him." Luke 20:38 Do you want to worship the Living God and become alive inside too? Do you want your chains to be broken off? I do. Here is a worship tool that God is teaching me that I call: Zoom Out, Zoom In. I believe it can help you too!

Shift Your Perspective

I want you to think of a camera lens, how you can zoom in on something you want to focus on, and zoom out to get the bigger picture. That's how we worship things too. We zoom in on what we worship, and we zoom out on things that are less important. God wants us to zoom in on Him and zoom out on our problems. That will bring you true freedom. I want to practice this with you by using a very personal example. I really want to be married but haven't found the right person yet. My tendency has been to zoom in on my unfulfilled desire and zoom out on God's faithfulness. But God wants it to be opposite, so here's what He's teaching me:

Zoom Out: Instead of saying, "What's wrong with me? Has God forsaken me?" and trying to figure out all the things I could do to get a man, I say, "God, I know You have someone great for me. I know plenty of other people who You have provided spouses for, and I trust You to take care of me too." I zoom out on my problem, instead of making it my god.

Zoom In: Then, I zoom in on my Creator—my God whom I trust. I think about all the wonderful things about Him, all the times He came through for people in the Bible and for me in the past. I think about how He loves me, has a great plan for me, and is powerful enough to bring the perfect person from anywhere in the world. I find peace by zooming in on my living God, and He brings me life and breaks me out of jail.

 

Let's Practice!

What is your prison? I want you to be free of your fears and free to worship the God who gives you life! David said, "I prayed to the LORD, and He answered me. He freed me from all my fears." Psalm 34:4 Will you practice this powerful tool with me by zooming out on your problem and zooming in on God below in the Comments? Just confess your problem to God and thank Him for being the One who can meet your need. Let's break free of the prison together, just like Paul and Silas!