Oh, the times when God feels so close we never want the experience to end! In mountain top moments my strength is renewed, and I feel deeply connected to God. My inner warrior stands tall, speaks boldly and my confidence soars like on “wings of eagles.” In these moments I can feel the strength of the Lord rising within me. During these times I am reading the Word of God daily, praying continually, and soaking, to the point of marinating, in His presence. Best of all, when demonstrating spiritual discipline, I am applying the Word in my life on a daily basis. It is not hit or miss, it is daily and continuous. In these times my cravings are for things of the Lord and my own desires are set aside. These are the best of times!
Of course in contrast, there are times my spirit has demonstrated symptoms of bulimia. I feed on the Word, seemingly with intent to live out what I read; but instead, vomit my fleshly thoughts the first chance I get. There is really no better way to cleanse the pallet than to spew a little toxic waste into a friend or family member’s life. It may feel good in a traffic jam, or the middle of an election, but is this how God wants us to display His love? This sort of thing happens when I allow daily activities, distractions, and the things of this world, to interfere and impact my time alone with God.
“I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 7:21-25 (NLT)
Before committing my life to Jesus, I was experiencing spiritual anorexia. I knew of God, believed there was a God, but because I did not have a relationship with Him, I was starving my spirit to death. My focus was me, and I could not get “ME” off my mind. I felt desperate, anxious, without hope or a future. I had no prayer life, no Bible study, and no connection to God’s people. My soul was starving and I was trying to survive feeding on the world’s junk food.
I believe most of us want to do what is right; we are generally “good people.” But there is a problem; we are all born spiritually diseased. There are no fad diets, no pills to take, no working your way up the stairway to heaven, there is only the “Great Physician” and his name is Jesus. None of us wake up in the morning and say, “I am going against God today and commit some really big sins!” No, most of us intend to start the day with God, and then, finish the day thanking Him for the blessings of the day. Sometimes it doesn’t work out that way. So what can we do?
Faith-Prayer-Discipline-Repeat; Have faith in God, trusting in Him more and more every day. Pray like you have never prayed before. Jesus arose and would spend a long time praying in the morning. The Bible also talks about Jesus praying all night in certain situations. If our Lord and Savior spent this much time in prayer, how important should it be in our lives? Our spirit, mind and body need to be in tune and alignment, and this requires discipline. Ask God for help in every aspect of your life. Trying to do it on your own is living in the flesh; we want to grow spiritually, so turn all things over to Him. Do not stop, do not give up. Establishing healthy spiritual habits helps us practice our love for God and others.