Recently I was listening to the song, “The Hungry Years” by Neil Sedaka, and the words touched my heart in a way that moved me to reflect on how our lives can be with God.
The premise of the song is how he and a love had so much
more during their hungry years together versus now when they seem to have it
all. They paid the price of letting their love grow cold as they lived to meet
their goals, not realizing that everything they wanted was everything they already
had. Bottom line, he missed the hungry years when they were closer and he wants
to go back.
This can be us when it comes to our relationship with
the Lord.
When I look back over my life as a Believer, the best
decisions and growth I’ve made were in the midst of the hard times in life. It
was during those times; I clung to Jesus like a wet tee-shirt and learned more
about His finished work on the Cross and God’s great love for me. But! I also see the times when once the fire or testing eased and things got better—I slow
walked back into the exact thing He desired me to come out of.
We all have a hunger in us. It can be basic and unique at
the same time. The basic is, either we hunger for the things of this world or
we hunger for the things of God. The unique depends on what we want and how bad
we want it in our own individual lives.
There is a spirit in America that seems to have hold of many
who say they follow Christ. It is a spirit of casualness. Yes, too many
only know the Savior of the world causally. I would have to say that falls
under, “Being lukewarm,” wouldn’t you agree? No, maybe some of you don’t agree
because I’m talking about you. But that is okay, because if what I have just
said smarts in anyway, I praise God! Because it means He is poking you.
My life was such a messy, mess when I decided to follow Christ.
And it took time to follow Him in a way that I knew in my heart there was going
to be, no turning back! It took the
hungry years or shall we say, “Trials and tribulations!”
Sisters, there are too many of us who if we don’t make a
decision soon, will find ourselves without oil in our lamps and not prepared at
all for the Bridegroom. (Click to read the 2014 blog How
Much Oil Do You Have?) We are putting along, and hungering and thrusting
after the things of this world and are blind to what is happening to us. We have
moved to the point of defending and justifying our foolishness, versus take
correction. We are not, studying the Word of God. Yet! We will be the first to run
sobbing and begging Him to ease the pain when times get rough.
I think Paul says it best, “11 Concerning
this we have much to say which is hard to explain, since you have become dull
in your [spiritual] hearing and sluggish [even slothful in achieving
spiritual insight]. 12 For even though
by this time you ought to be teaching others, you actually need someone to
teach you over again the very first principles of God’s Word. You have come to
need milk, not solid food. 13 For
everyone who continues to feed on milk is obviously inexperienced and
unskilled in the doctrine of righteousness (of conformity to the divine will in
purpose, thought, and action), for he is a mere infant [not able to talk yet]!
14 But solid food is for full-grown men, for
those whose senses and mental faculties are trained by practice to
discriminate and distinguish between what is morally good and
noble and what is evil and contrary either to divine or human law.” (Hebrews 5:11-14 Amp)
I now possess a gratefulness in my heart for the
hard times and hungry years, because that is what it took to bring me to a
place in life to know who the God of the Bible is. And also to be able to walk
in the Freedom of the “finished works of the Cross,” and have confidence I will
be able to stand in the midst of what is about to come. Do I have it all
together? No way! The more I learn, the more I realize just how much I don’t
know. But studying God’s Word and living to please Him, is important to me.
Sisters, no one will be able to stand with just
a casual relationship with Christ. It puts you in jeopardy of being part of the
great falling away that is to come (some might say it has already started), or
even worse—told to go with the goats because our Savior will declare that He
never knew you. Is that what you want?
The promise of the inheritance of the Kingdom
of God is for those who love Him. And Jesus says, “If you love me you will obey
my commands.” It is impossible to obey His commands if you don’t know what they
are? And I am not talking about the 10 Commandments of the Old Testament either.
It is time to get serious and stop drinking milk
and eating the regurgitated meat of others.
Two weeks ago, I challenged you to give up a
television show that was questionable for 2 weeks and replace that hour with
reading your Bibles. There were some who defended how watching certain shows was
a judgment call and just entertainment. My concern is—when did we start
watching what God calls sin and calling it entertainment?
With Easter coming up soon, I challenge you to read
at least the book of Matthew and John this week. Also cut back on television
and social media. Close off the noise and distractions of this world and see
what God has to say to you concerning the price Christ paid on the Cross for
us, and what it entails to be a true follower of the Messiah.
Girls, it could mean the difference between
spending eternity in Hell’s fires or eternity with God!
Yes, it is just that serious.
Until next week...
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