Made To Crave

It's time to hanker for Jesus, like we do Chocolate covered pretzels, potato chips and praise. It's time to run to Him, like we run to our phone, to our computers; any screen really and all day long.

It's time to dive into His Word, like we dive into a fresh pot of coffee to get us over the hump.

It's time!  Because we were Made to Crave so much more!

Today I'm not sharing any of my own thoughts, just giving you a taste of the wisdom and encouragement found in Lysa TerKeurst's amazingly enjoyable and transforming book, Made to Crave: Satisfying Your Deepest Desire with God, Not Food. May it whet our appetites for Him.

To set the stage for why this book fits perfectly in with our 40 day fast, read this comment that was shared by one of you only two days in: "I have neglected God's Word for over a year and it is such a relief to be back. I have been malnourished from neglecting the Truth."

Malnourished.

The word caught me by the heart, because that is what we become when we stop consuming the Bread of Life and The Living Water.

Malnourished.

That's what fasting tends to remind a hungry soul.

These paragraphs below all come from Chapter One of Made to Crave.  I will share a few more selections in the weeks ahead, but I'm giving you some insight into chapter one now, hoping that you'll hustle out to Barnes and Noble right now to grab a copy and read along.  Here we go:

"In addition to helping you find the desire to conquer your unhealthy cravings, (this book) also holds the key to something very significant for most of us women - malnutrition.  We feel overweight physically but underweight spiritually.  Tying these first things together is the first step on one of the most significant journeys you'll ever take with God. It reminds me of a journey described in Matthew 19.  A rich young man comes to see jesus and explains that he is following all the rues but still feels something missing form his pursuit of God. 'All of these rules I have kept,' he says to Jesus. 'What do I still lack?' (Matthew 19:20).

In other words, How do I really get close to God?

Such a vulnerable question.  Such a relatable question.

Jesus responds, 'If you want to be perfect (whole) , go, sell our possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.' (Matthew 19:21)

The rich young man then goes away sad because he won't give up the one thing that consumes him.  He is so full with his riches he can't see how undernourished his soul is.  He's just like people today who refuse healthier breakfast options like egg whites and fruit so they can fill themselves up with candy-sprinkled, chocolate-frosted doughnuts.  Even when their sugar high crashes and they complain of splitting headaches, they steadfastly refuse to consider giving up their doughnuts...

"When Jesus says 'Follow me,' it's not an invitation to drag our divided heart alongside us as we attempt to follow hard after God. When Jesus wants us to follow Him -- really follow Him -- it's serious business.  Here's how Jesus describes it: 'If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.' (Mark 8:34)...

God made us capable of craving so we'd have an unquenchable desire to for more of Him, and Him alone. Nothing changes until we make the choice to redirect our misguided cravings to the only one capable of satisfying them."

(Lysa TerKeurst, Made to Crave, pg. 15-16)

At the end of each chapter, Lysa asks us to reflect on our own personal journey with God and with food. Here's one question I thought we'd grapple with together:

"I had to get honest enough to admit it: I relied on food more than I relied on God.  I craved food more than I craved God.  Food was my comfort.  Food was my reward. Good was my joy.  Good was what I turned to in times of stress, sadness, and even times of happiness (pg. 29)"  Consider your eating experiences (in recent years). Using the list below, can you recall specific situations in which you turned to food for these reasons?

-Comfort

-Reward

-Joy

-Stress

-Sadness

-Happiness.

Yes, as a matter of fact, yes I can.  Not so much reward and joy for this girl, but sadness / comfort and stress, absolutely. How about you?