EVERYONE PLEASE READ THIS!!!!!!!!!(another Jeff Deyo devotional)

Sunday, June 10, 2007

EVERYONE PLEASE READ THIS!!!!!!!!!(another Jeff Deyo devotional)
As the Deer-Spiritual Hunger
Starving for God ~ Psalm 42:1-2
I’ll never forget the summer of 1993. Our family was on vacation on beautiful
Lake Powell in sun-beat Utah. We were just docking our houseboat on a sandy
beach below the canyon cliffs when we saw something I will never forget. Over
the rocks toward the beach staggered a scrawny, malnourished deer. With each
determined step, I could see the bones beneath his skin churn and strain to
maintain balance. He marched slowly, but steadily toward the water, seemingly
unswerving in his direction, possibly believing the water to be his only hope for
survival. As he reached the waters edge, his chest quivered as he quenched his
deep thirst. Then unexpectedly, we all grew silent as he glanced nervously at us
and in desperation dropped to his knees with complete abandon to refresh his
weary body.
The image of that deer on his knees will remain in my mind forever, as if it
happened in slow motion. Nothing would keep him from reaching the
refreshment he so desperately needed; not the rocks or rough terrain, not the
fear of those who looked on, and not even his own exhaustion. Suddenly I had a
brand new understanding of Psalm 42:1. “As the deer pants for streams of
water, so I long for You, oh God.”
I don’t know about you, but I have a deep desire to know God more, to get
beyond just memorizing Bible verses to where I actually experience the
nourishment of God and His Word in my life every day. At times, in reference to
physical hunger, we may jokingly say that we are “starving,” but most of us have
never been so hungry or thirsty that we were actually on the verge of death. Our
basic needs have always been met. The only things we worry about are things
we want or think we need. At the same time, most of us are very much spiritually
malnourished. We walk around looking good on the outside and maybe even
feeling carefree on the inside, but when all is said and done our spirit man is
nothing more than skin and bones.
Our need for God is really a lot like our need for food. We wouldn’t think of going
more than a few hours without having a meal or a snack, yet we’ll go days,
months or even years without spending real, intimate time alone with God.
Somehow we fool ourselves into believing that we can survive on what remains
of last year’s winter retreat or that couples’ seminar or even the passion we had
for God when we were little. A lot of us seem content to live from Sunday to
Sunday, as if one meal a week is enough.
God’s plan has always been for us to be completely and utterly satisfied in
knowing Him and loving His people. Then and only then can we begin to really
enjoy the other gifts He’s given us. Maybe you’ve heard evangelists or
preachers tell stories of how they’ve shared Jesus with people on airplanes or in
public places and wished you could do that. Or maybe you’ve wondered if Jesus
was really speaking to us along with the disciples in Matthew 10 when he tells
them to go out healing the sick, raising the dead and giving themselves freely to
everyone. There is only one place to find the answers. Seek Him, and you will
find Him if you seek him with all your heart.
Some of us might not recognize our state of spiritual starvation because we are
so used to satisfying our flesh with temporary things that we don’t even notice to
depravity of our spirits. We go from one thing to another, and as long as we can
find or participate in the latest or newest thing, we’re good to go. As long as
we’re up on the latest trends or have the newest cell phone or iPod we feel
generally good . . . until late at night just before falling asleep when everything is
quiet . . .but then again so many of us never experience quiet. I’m told that it’s
too difficult to fall asleep without music playing or headphones in place. The
quiet is haunting. It helps us see things the way they really are . . . and
sometimes that is too difficult to face. So we keep the stimuli going and we fill
satisfy our appetite temporarily.
Proverbs 27:7 tells us that honey is tasteless to those who are full. John Bevere
says it’s like eating two huge meals on Thanksgiving. We go to our uncle’s
house for a huge lunch and then move on to our grandma’s house for a dinner
feast. The only thing is that since we’ve already gorged ourselves at lunch the
dinner meal seems much less appetizing . . . even the home made pumpkin pie
isn’t as appealing! This is like us in that we fill ourselves so much with the things
of the world that when it comes to the sweet things of God, we’re not hungry for
them. We’re not as drawn to them. They don’t seem as flavorful.
What we need to do is make some room for God. If we constantly overwhelm
our senses with the things of this world (even some things that are not blatant
sin), then there is no place for God in our lives. We must stop doing some of the
things we do and listening to or watching some of what we hear and see in order
to create some space and stir up a genuine hunger for God. And we must begin
consuming his word if we want to establish a taste for it. We only crave what we
consume, so if you want to develop a hunger for God just start down the path
and your hunger will increase in proportion to how much you seek him . . . more
and more.
There is no doubt that Jesus is coming soon, so if you seem to have lost your
appetite for God, ask Him to renew your hunger and passion for Him and His
Word, and then begin doing whatever it takes – including getting on your knees,
getting in his word and getting into his presence!!