When one of our boys was really little, he had some eating issues. Well, ok, the reality was he just hardly ate anything. I vividly remember getting him ready for a bath one night and looking at his little body, now about 18 months old. His tummy was big and distended looking atop the scrawniest little legs and I suddenly had visions of the babies in third world countries and fear entered my heart.
He had no medical issues at that time that would create this. It wasn't until years later that we discovered he had serious texture issues relating to food and lots of other things he couldn't express until he was older. I had a friend whose mother-in-law was a dietician and spoke to her about my concerns. She gave us some much needed advice and said something that has stayed with me. "He knows how it feels to be empty, but he doesn't know how it feels to be full."
Wow! In a world where abundance of food is readily available and snacks are everywhere, it can be hard to imagine in our first world coziness to comprehend not feeling full.
And yet, do we experience this spiritually?
When was the last time you felt spiritually full?
Was it one day? A moment? An extended period of your life? If so, what led to that?
Was it from reading a passage in scripture that spoke to your spirit so deeply, you felt completely loved?
Was it through the voice of the Spirit whispering just what you needed to hear?
Was it the power of a blessing?
Was it a prayer answered in a way only you could appreciate?
If we are not ever feeling "full" spiritually, we need to!
What prevents that full feeling?
Is it that we lack the spiritual food we need?
Recently I had a day I felt full to overflowing! I could not stop myself from praying in pure gratitude for God's blessings to me, for His strength in my weakness, for the family and friends to be with me in this journey. And now weeks later, I'm trying to remember what led to that. I remember waking and praying and spending time in scripture. I went about all of my daily craziness, carpool, volunteering in the classroom, the store, and in between all of those things I listened to uplifting music. And somehow my spirit just could not be contained. I was literally spilling words of gratitude out.
I think it was that I was feasting. I had been going to Him regularly in prayer and spending time feasting on the word. I was filling up my spirit with good music. I was giving my spirit exactly what it needed and doing it abundantly, and then I was full.
I'm not sure this will happen every day, but that full feeling makes me want more. Of all the cravings I've ever had, this by far is the best one.
Psalms 107:9 "For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness."
Just like filling our bellies takes some work and some time, so does filling our souls. But it is the most satisfying fufillment we will ever have!
If you need me to pray for you in being filled up, respond to this blog and I will get right on it! If you know someone who is empty, pray for them to be filled, get specific! God loves to answer our prayers for each other!
