Bitter Seems Sweet

"One who is full loathes honey from the comb,

but to the hungry even what is bitter tastes sweet."

Proverbs 27:7

I, like all humans, have a deep hunger for something that satisfies.  I search high and low, trying this and that, but nothing quenches that thirst, satiates my appetite, fills that hole.  Then I encounter the Bread of Life, and I find contentment and satisfaction (John 6:35).  But how do I often work against Jesus' satisfying nature (John 10:10b)?

Junk Food.  "You'll spoil your dinner!"  It's the mantra of mother's everywhere as they try to train their children to prefer that which provides true sustenance and high quality nutrition as opposed to what simply tastes good but is devoid of any nourishment that would promote good health.  It's what is often called "junk food" or empty calories.

There is also a kind of spiritual junk food that can ruin my appetite for God's Word.  When I fill up on other stuff like worldly wisdom that sounds good to my itching ears (2 Timothy 4:3), or false teachings like the prosperity gospel that tells me Jesus came to improve my physical life here on earth (Matthew 6:24, John 16:33), or fluff that does nothing for me but entertain, I lose my desire to hear the Truth of God's kingdom.  Instead of craving meat I settle for milk because it's all I can stomach after gorging on all the junk (1 Corinthians 3:1-2).  When I use my discernment to weed out that which is not from God, I'll find my hunger growing for the unadulterated Word of God.

When I fill up on the junk food of this world, I ruin my appetite for the nourishment found in God and His Word (Matthew 5:6).

Starvation.  I have the habit of putting off eating until I get my work done.  Sometimes I get so caught up in what I'm doing that it's noon before I eat breakfast.  I didn't intend to skip a meal; I just get too busy to eat.

It's easy to do the same thing spiritually.  I'm so busy running from one activity to another, filling my life with things that seem so important and meaningful, that I run out of time to spend with Jesus.  In fact, I get so caught up in this life that I rarely invite Him in to what I'm doing (Revelation 3:20).  To pray continuously doesn't mean I have to sit in my prayer corner all day long (1 Thessalonians 5:17).  Rather, it is an attitude, a desire to be open to what God is telling me, to listen for His still, small voice and watch for Him at work all around me.  It's getting in the habit of living life in relationship with Him in comparison to setting Him on a shelf where He stays until I think I need Him (John 15:5).

When I starve myself of Jesus and His presence, I become vulnerable to every good-sounding message that I hope will take the edge off my spiritual hunger.  Only Jesus satisfies.

Binge-Purge Cycle.  It's a horrible cycle that can lead to death.  In an effort to control her life in some way, a woman caught in this vicious disorder gorges on food, often junk, in an effort to find satisfaction, only to be overcome with guilt and makes herself vomit up all she just ate.  Or, in order to try to keep up appearances, to reach an impossible standard set for her, or maintain the facade of perfection, she purges after meals as a weight-control method.  Either way, the food she consumes is not given a chance to be digested and utilized by the body as sustenance.  As a result, those caught in this web of deceit often find themselves malnourished as well as emotionally tortured.

I can do the same kind of thing with God's truths.  I can listen to sermons and teachings every chance I get, read God's Word each and every day, and talk about how great God is but until I apply it to my own life, letting God use it to change the way I think, to alter my lifestyle, to modify my behavior, it's like I'm entering into a binge-purge cycle (Romans 12:2).  The Truth is never broken down, ingested and allowed to change my heart.  I might as well not bother if the Word I'm hearing makes no difference in the way I live my life (James 1:22-25).

When I gorge myself on the Truth yet fail to put it into action, I have entered into a cycle that will result in spiritual malnourishment as God's Word fails to penetrate my heart.

There are many ways I find myself hungering after that which will do me no good.  I often gorge on spiritual junk food that ruins my appetite for true sustenance, or I starve myself of Jesus which drives me to feed on whatever I come across, or I gorge on God's Word but fail to let it change me.  In these ways I place myself in a perilous position in which even that which is bitter can taste sweet to me.  May I only hunger after that which truly satisfies!

As I begin this day it is my prayer that I can trust God enough to let Him fulfill my every need.

When do I fill up on that which will do me no good in the long term?

How am I starving myself of Jesus?