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18 For I have told you often before, and I say it again now with tears in my eyes, there are many who walk along the Christian road who are really enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 Their future is eternal loss, for their god is their appetite: they are proud of what they should be ashamed of; and all they think about is this life here on earth. 20 But our homeland is in heaven, where our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, is; and we are looking forward to his return from there. ~ Phil. 3:18-20 TLB
Being a true Christian is not for the lazy. The manifestation of the promise requires consistent and willful pursuit and cleansing. God is not the "fairy godmother" in Cinderella. We don't cry and then the thing we're wanting manifests. If you want God, for real for real, it requires obeying His commandments. It requires owning our faults, confessing them, and trusting Him to forgive us and deliver us. Life as a Believer of Jesus Christ, requires us to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. (Matt. 6:33) This journey of faith should compel us to always set our hand to the plow and not look back.
Plowing is work! The hands of a true farmer are hard and calloused from digging up, pushing the plow, seeding, fertilizing, and watering. The same way a farmer is determined to see their crops yield year after year, we have to be determined to see God transform us by choosing Him above our plans. We have to set Him as our priority. He's not leftovers, but our first fruit. It's time for the TRUE Believers to drown out the noise, beat back the distractions and press into His presence. Not for stuff --- only for the PRESENCE OF GOD! It's time for us to make the choice to suppress our carnal appetites and crave for the meat found in God's presence.
Appetite is driven by our desire to eat and hunger is driven by our physical need to be sustained by food. When we're hungry our bodies will typically become lethargic and weak. When our appetite desires a certain type of food, we're not satisfied until that craving is fulfilled. Think about the lengths we've gone to for food. Let's capture that and ask the Holy Spirit to help us become that dogmatic about our time with God. In His presence is the fullness of joy and at His right hand are pleasures evermore. (Ps. 16:11)
Holy Spirit, help us to desire God so much that we are driven to get to Him by any means. Let us hunger and thirst for His righteousness until we are fulfilled. Teach us to make Him our priority above the cares of this life. Then give us the common sense to choose Him above all else.
Graced to hunger,
Minister Tomeka
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