Spiritual Poverty

Last month, our church provided a service opportunity that our family could not pass up. Feed My Starving Children (FMSC) is a Christian organization committed to feed God's starving children throughout the world. They shared a story that has stuck with me and came back to my mind recently. The speaker told us about Haitian biscuits. The biscuits are made of mud, mixed with water, salt and vegetable shortening or butter. The biscuits are dried in the sun and have no nutritional value. Desperate women who cannot afford rice, have started feeding these biscuits to their babies. The mud does not give the baby any nourishment, it tricks the stomach into feeling full, therefore, the baby stops crying.

FMSC is a great organization, and I encourage you to help those in need, but that is not the purpose of this blog. God has been talking to me about the idea of Spiritual Poverty.

It wasn't long ago that I felt I was not getting all that I should out of my walk as a Christian. I read the Bible and began to understand more. I read about the fullness of God, abundant living and unmeasurable joy. Why wasn't I experiencing any of that? I wanted more! That is when I began my journey of studying, reading and searching. I felt like a sponge soaking up anything I could get my hands on that came from a trusted source. I wanted to drench myself in the living water that I had read so much about and I couldn't get enough.

This is when I noticed the biggest change in my life, and I was not the only one who sensed the change.

So what was the difference?

I was looking for my own faith. Living on someone else's faith will only get us so far. If we are not experiencing it for ourselves, we are not really living in the abundant blessings that God has prepared, just for us. We are living on the leftover blessings of another person.

There are so many people who go to church and leave feeling empty. They put their time in and leave unchanged, not encouraged to do more, they are still hungry. I beg you, do not ignore this feeling! God has created you for so much more. He has given you so much more. He does not want you living on empty.

Living on empty is a dangerous place! When we are not filled with Him, we look to other things to fill us up. Bad relationships. Pornography. Shopping. Alcohol. Affairs. Drugs. Food. TV. None of these things  will truly fill us. They will trick us into feeling full, but there is no nutritional value in these things. Once the high is gone, we are looking for more.

So what are we to do?

First, look at your church. Is the Holy Spirit present there? A good church will produce abundant fruit. Before anyone gets upset or concerned, I am not telling you to leave your church! But, there are times that God wants us to move. I have a good friend that was very involved with the Women's Ministry at her church. She was the leader of this ministry and doing great things. Not long ago, she began feeling unsettled and she felt as though God was preparing her to move. She met with her Pastor, her mentor and other people she trusted. She and her husband prayed and fasted before making any decisions. This is not a decision to take lightly, significant prayer is necessary.

Here are some questions to ask yourself. Are you being fed on a regular basis? Not every message will stir you into action, but more often than not, you should feel the message speaking directly to you. Is there encouragement to deepen your relationship with God and others? Are there good Bible based studies and fellowship opportunities for you to be involved with? Are there service opportunities? God wants us to reach out to others, we should be serving people in the name of Jesus. Are there Godly people in leadership? What is their relationship with Christ? What fruit are they bearing? Are they teaching you how to find your own relationship or are they feeding you the leftovers of their relationship? These are questions to help you, but ultimately, you need to seek God and his direction. If He is leading you to move, He will bless your obedience!

If you are pleased with your church and all that it has, then I encourage you to try something nes! Ask God to show you where He wants you to go. Ask a reliable source what they are doing to strengthen their relationship with Christ. Call your church and get information about the different classes or groups that are available. Start a Bible study on your own. God is the best teacher! He will show you things that are specifically for you and your current season. There are great resources online for Bible reading plans, the one that I use, is from a friend's website.

I encourage you to step out on faith! God has given you the hunger for more and He will feed you! He does not want any of His children to be looking elsewhere for nourishment. He has exactly what you need.

So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

“Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” - Luke 11:9-13

Father God, you are the giver of all good things. I confess that I have not been living my life to the fullest. Lord, there is something missing, and I know that it is You. Guide me in the direction that You want me to go. Lead me to the place where I can find You more fully and more completely. I do not want to fill my life with the things that don't satisfy me. I want to be complete in Christ, just as you promised in Your Word (Colossians 2:9-10). I believe that You will give what I ask according to Your Word and I thank you for that. Amen.