On Being A Spiritual Foodie
I had an experience a few weeks ago that came as a very pleasant surprise to me even though, at that moment, I was being verbally attacked. This was nothing new, as I had been criticized by this person several times in the past. What was new was the peace and calm in my soul instead of the knots, anger, and bile rising to my throat.
As I listened feelings of sympathy came over me. I thought how unhappy this person must be to berate someone who is an ally in their life. In the past, when attacked that way, my carnal nature would rise up. I would disagree, defend myself, get upset over it, and have turmoil for several days. This time, I found myself responding compassionately, telling them I was sorry that they were so unhappy. I said that while I did not agree with their words, I appreciated how they felt and would pray over the situation and for them.
Later in my office, I thought about what had happened. Why the new response? What was different in my life? This response did not come out of force or gritting my teeth to do what I thought was right. I hadn’t just made up my mind to be more Christ-like. It just came out of my spirit.
What I realized was that I had been spending at least an hour a day with Jesus. My prayer, worship, and Bible reading time had dramatically increased in the last six months. Because of this, there was more positive than negative input. I was astounded. Right before my eyes was the proof that simply spending more time in the presence of Jesus, through worship, prayer, and His word, will change you on the inside to be more like Him- without struggle.
I know we have all heard this but if we really believed it was true, and wanted the result in our lives, we would take the time. A little while after this epiphany, I was reading the Bible and came across Acts4:13. It said,
Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.
This jumped off the page at me because I understood what it meant. I had experienced this. Through spending time with Him, I had also become more tangibly like Jesus. I was so excited that I determined never to miss my time with Him. I did not want to let go of this peaceful, happy, contented place I was now living in. I became a spiritual foodie.
We have all heard this term, right? A foodie is someone who has developed a finer taste for what is good food. They are fussy about what they eat. You know where I'm going. Isaiah 55: 2,3 will help explain.
Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And let your soul delight itself in abundance. Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live.
This also jumped out to me because I see that God's word is good food. When we feed on His word, our souls (mind, will, emotions) will delight in abundance. This is the peace, contentment, and happiness I was experiencing. If we incline our ears ( treat as important, lean in) and come to Him by investing time in His presence, we will experience the fullest of life.
I also began to notice that I had developed a distaste for certain things on TV and media. The bad food of the world was not appealing anymore. Like a foodie, my tastes were changing to be more in line with Christ's character. I was being drawn to different people, better topics of conversation, and things of better content.
My prayer is that you too will come to the point where you do not even want bad food because it would jeopardize the peaceful place you are living in. His abundance and presence are so strong in your life that you will fight to protect it. I pray you will see His Word working in your life so powerfully that you will never risk losing it. I know I will not…I've tasted the best.
Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. Phillipians 4:8
