Getting Over Obstacles to Getting into the Word Part 3: Admitting You're Hungry

Breakfast is not something I normally skip out on. It's part of my daily routine and I'm not one to forget to eat... except for this one particular day. And boy did I ever pick the wrong day.

A few weeks ago, my mom picked me up before the sun was up. We were off to the airport to teach at a conference. I wasn't quite feeling ready for food at that hour. I told myself I would eat later. We arrived at the airport, checked in, and went through security. We walked by a couple of restaurants but I told myself I'll eat later. I don't feel hungry yet. 

We sat waiting to board the plane with no food establishments in sight. Once on board, the lovely attendants served me coffee as I thought about eating after we landed. We landed, got the rental car and decided to check in at the hotel before grabbing breakfast. Then we headed to the church to set-up our rooms and planned to eat after. Then of course, setting up took a tad longer than planned and before I had time to eat, it was time for the meeting and then time to get started. Lunch was light. Of course, I ate it but was still feeling the repercussions of not eating breakfast. My salad fell on starving soil so it's nourishment was short-lived. 

Needless to say, with two teaching sessions under my belt, and one left to go, I had no gas in the tank. I had run a caloric deficit. Thankfully, a godsent woman noticed my weariness and asked if I needed anything. Water, oranges, a couple of chocolates, a stool and a whole bunch of prayers got me through the last session.  

The Spirit was present but the temple was in rough shape.

 My output exceeded my input by a longshot and I was feeling it. 

Now of course, this story isn't simply about skipping breakfast. It's about the "later" lie we tell ourselves.  

As food nourishes the body physically, so the Word of God nourishes the spirit and soul.

In John 6:35, Jesus says He is the bread of life. If we come to Him, we will never hunger or thirst.

But instead of coming to Him for the spiritual feast our soul longs for, we settle for something to temporarily quell the hunger. We buy something, schedule something, post something, say something or scroll through something. 

We tell ourselves, "after I get everything else done," or "once my kids are older," or "later when life isn't so busy" or "once my husband shows an interest in reading His Bible." 

No GF sustenance, only stickers. (But I do love stickers!)

Except later arrives and we're even emptier than before. We wonder why we feel so drained, tired, worn out, stressed, afraid, distracted and discontent.

These spiritual hunger pangs are designed to signal our need for daily bread but instead we settle for another dose of daily distraction.  

We've been talking about how to get into the Word. We begin with desire– asking Him to change our want, and realizing that His desire is to be with us– and then friends, we need to get down to discipline. 

Simply put, discipline is doing the thing we don't want to do in order to get a desired result.

I want to continue feasting on the bread that never leaves me hungry and in order to do that, I need discipline. 

When I feel hungry, I don't feel guilty about not eating, I simply stop what I'm doing and eat. (Except for that one time.) 

When your soul is signalling that it's hungry, simply stop and take a few moments to be with the Bread of Life. If you don't, you'll continue to experience the consequences. 

My mother didn't condemn me that day for not eating breakfast but I was sure feeling the consequences. 

There have been days and seasons where I skipped a whole bunch of spiritual breakfast. Though I felt condemned, I was not. Because I am in Jesus, the verdict on my life was and still is not guilty.

But, oh how I felt the consequences. Those days and seasons were characterized by fear, anxiety, discontentment and restlessness. My faith lost some of it's spiritual muscle. My soul was signalling that it was starving for daily spiritual food.

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Instead of another daily dose of distraction, set aside the same time every single day to be with the One who is Daily Bread in His Word. As you become disciplined in spending time with Him, you will be able to echo the words of David found in Psalm 63:

"God, You are my God. I eagerly seek You. I thirst for You; my body faints for You in a land that is dry, desolate, and without water...My lips will glorify You because Your faithful love is better than life...You satisfy me as with rich food."

So, if you so desire, say this to Him right now:

Lord, I confess that I lack discipline. Forgive me for trading daily bread for daily distraction. I want to experience You, the Bread of Life, who truly satisfies my soul. Carve out the time for me to be with You in Your Word. You know what stands in my way. Give me the strength and desire to be disciplined. Thank you that you want to be with me in your Word. In Jesus name...

Stay tuned, we will keep talking about how!

And, I would love to hear from YOU! Has He begun to change your want? Has He freed you from the condemnation? I'm just dying to know in the comment section below!