The Way to Receive
"The sluggard buries his hand in the dish; he will
not even bring it back to his mouth!" (Prov. 19:24 The Message)
This is kind of a different thought, don't you think? Have you ever met
anyone who was too lazy to lift the food from their plate to their mouth?
Sometimes scripture can be hard to understand because we tend to take it
literally. As I puzzled over this text the other day, it occurred to me that
the message was from the spiritual realm, not the physical one.
In the spiritual realm, "food" makes reference to the Word of God. Paul, in
his letter to the Corinthians, as well as the writer of Hebrews, both
admonish the people for still being "babes in Christ", still needing
"spiritual milk", for they are not yet ready for "solid food". What are they
talking about? The writer of Hebrews further explains: "In fact, though
by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the
elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid
food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted
with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who
by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil."
(Heb 5:12-14 NIV)
The spiritual "food" referred to in these passages is God's Word. "Milk"
refers to the elementary truths of God's Word, while "sold food" refers to
"teaching about righteousness", and the ability to train oneself "to
distinguish good from evil".
So what is Solomon trying to tell us when he says that a sluggard is too
lazy to lift the food to their mouths? Simply this: As Christians, we have
God's Word in front of us, at our disposal. We have our "hand in the dish",
so to speak. We have the teaching about righteousness. We have the ability
to train ourselves to distinguish good from evil. We have the ability to
overcome temptation. We have the ability, at our disposal, to see miracles
arise, even in the 21st century! But we don't use it. We are too lazy to
"bring it back to [our] mouth"!
Friends, God's Word is: ". . . Living and active. Sharper than any
double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints
and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in
all creation is hidden from God's sight Everything is uncovered and laid
bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account." (Heb 4:12-13
NIV) God's Word is "the sword of the Spirit" (Eph 6:17 NIV) In sum, God's
Word is our offensive weapon, the only offensive weapon mentioned in the
Bible!
Why is it then, that after giving our hearts to Christ, many of us continue
to struggle with temptation, addictions, bad tempers, and rotten attitudes?
We continue to live our lives as we have done for years, and unless we tell
them, no one knows we're Christians. But it doesn't have to be so. Instead
of stumbling along as the world does, we need to "eat" our "spiritual food".
We need to "bring it back to [our] mouths"!
The apostle Paul tell us: "For though we live in the world, we do not
wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of
the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.
We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the
knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to
Christ." (2 Cor 10:3-6 NIV )
Instead of succumbing to temptation, let's go into battle! Let's take up our
Spiritual weapons. Let's believe the Truth in God's Word and wield this
powerful "Sword"!
No one said it would be easy, but we have to remember that if we don't use
the powerful weapons God has given us; if we doubt His Word; if we are too
lazy to stand in the gap and pray; if we find that giving in is easier than
standing firm; then we are no better than the sluggard in Solomon's example!
We sit around with our hands in our plates, fingering our spiritual food,
but we never take it from the table to our mouths! We never make it a part
of ourselves! We miss out on the nutrients and energy that the "food" is
meant to give us!
Yes, it will be hard, but it's the only way to get the piece of pie!
Friends, let's follow Paul's advice: "Finally, be strong in the Lord and
in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your
stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and
blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers
of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly
realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil
comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done
everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around
your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your
feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In
addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can
extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of
salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in
the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests."
(Eph 6:10-18 NIV)
In His love, Lyn
Lyn Chaffart, Mother of two teens, Author and Moderator for
The Nugget, a tri-weekly internet newsletter, and Scriptural Nuggets, a
website devoted to Christian devotionals and inspirational poems,
www.scripturalnuggets.org ,
with Answers2Prayer Ministries,
www.Answers2Prayer.org .