Spiritual Fast Food Almost Killed Me

For the better part of my adult life, I ate what I wanted, when I wanted and never worried about the health ramifications of that diet. If it's passed to you through a drive-thru window, I probably ate it. If the side of the box was taken up by a list of ingredients that looked more like a science experiment than a food product, I consumed it. Sonic chili-cheese coney; double-meat, double-cheese Whataburger; Taco Bell #7 combo with a soft taco and large Dr. Pepper, please!!

I used the excuse of my 150-mile daily round-trip commute to Big D for the last 13 years as the reason for my food choices. It wasn't until 18 months ago that I finally started to see and feel the physical effects of that life. Sure there were other warning signs, but for better or worse, I ignored them.

So many times in our spiritual life, we do the exact same thing. We attempt to survive on Spiritual Junk Food - the equivalent of Dr. Pepper, chocolate chip cookies, Big Mac's and Blue Bell ice cream for every meal. We do drive-by prayers and give God a quick 2-3 minute window of time during the day; we listen to a bible verse or devotional in the car in the middle of our commute and justify it as our "quiet time" with God; we say that we read the bible today and what we really did was scroll through Facebook and read all the "feel good" posts and scriptures our friends posted on their news feeds. 

The difference with a bad food diet and a bad spiritual diet, is that our Father loves us so much and longs to "break bread" with us, that He won't let us go for years on a bad spiritual diet. He will do all He can to get our attention!

Why do we do this? Why do we settle for the junk food of life when our Father has set a feast up for us that is fit for a King? Why do we wait until He rattles our cages to get our attention to finally realize how desperately He wants us to feed at His table? 

Isaiah 55 says, "Come, all who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and you labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare."

God's calling to us His children is to give him our first fruits. Too many times, we stop at the money and assume we're giving Him what He wants. What He really longs for is the other thing that we value sometimes more than money - OUR TIME! 

We've grown up in our spoiled, microwave, instant-gratification society with a mindset that we can fix all our problems with MONEY! That includes our spiritual walk and our relationship with God. One of our greatest misconceptions is that we can buy God's favor with our tithes and offerings. I can't speak for God, but as an earthly father who wants nothing more than to spend time with his kids, I have to believe our Heavenly Father wants us to pull up a chair at His table and not just "grab and go" like we're prone to do. He longs for us to sit, dine, visit, share, talk, cry, laugh, listen and JUST BE STILL. The Family Table is one of the best places to fix problems, heal hurts and mend hearts.

If you find yourself spiritually thirsty, spent, drained, making choices that are not in line with His calling in your life; if your discernment for right and wrong has drifted more into an area of gray than it used to; if that pain in your gut is not from hunger, but from anxiety and fear because of the choices you've been making, your Father has the answer for you. Leave your wallet at home and pull up a seat at His Table. He's inviting you to come and eat and drink from a feast that will never leave you hungry or thirsty again!  

Ask me how I know!

Leave a comment