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How to Feed Your Spirit Well

Aug2

We are ingrown souls. In our natural state, our spirits curl in on themselves, deformed and dysfunctional, like severely arthritic fingers.

Facing inward, these ingrown spirits feed on their own glory—a glory that is toxic. Our own glory may be sweet in our mouths, but it grows sour in the stomach. It never nourishes us, and it always is bitter and fatal in the end.

If you have ever read this haunting poem by Stephen Crane, you probably have never forgotten it:

In the desert
I saw a creature, naked, bestial,
Who, squatting upon the ground,
Held his heart in his hands,
And ate of it.
I said, “Is it good, friend?”
“It is bitter—bitter,” he answered;
“But I like it
Because it is bitter,
And because it is my heart.”

It is the beautiful and miraculous work of God’s Spirit to invert our ingrown spirits and to turn us right-side-out. Having been opened up into outward-facing spirits, like flowers whose faces are fully turned to the sun, we now feed on His radiant Glory, a Glory which is life and health and forever-sweetness to us.

“Taste and see that the LORD is good” (Psalm 34:8, NIV).

An Open Letter to a Divorced Covenant-Keeper

Jul25

I met another one last week: someone who has become convinced that God wants him to be committed to his covenant partner, even though they are divorced. I applaud him and those like him because this commitment requires strength despite much opposition and perseverance despite little support. There is no guarantee that someone else will have a change of heart, but there is a promise from God that He will honor those who honor Him. (The letter below was worded to a man, but its message applies equally to women who are keeping their covenant vows even when their husbands are not.)

I salute you! Your heart for reconciliation reveals the very heart of God, and your faithfulness to covenant reflects the faithfulness of God, which “reaches to the skies.” We will break our loyalty to our covenant partners the day God breaks His loyalty to us, His covenant partners.

I commend you for your commitment, even though it means battling upstream against the culture and against spiritual forces. Instead of harming you, this struggle will instead strengthen you into the greatness for which you were created.

When a man makes a covenant vow to a woman, he is bound before God to that commitment until death breaks the bond. Even if his covenant partner loses heart, he can remain committed to her, regardless of what she does, and remain committed to peace. Without pushing, pulling, or demanding, he can stand with his feet planted in unshakable, unmovable commitment to the partner. Her reactions do not change his commitment. The covenant-keeping husband, even when divorced, can be a rock of commitment to his covenant partner. He must be willing to die for her and to die daily; he must be willing to die misunderstood, unappreciated, and mistreated. The goal–the only goal–is to love well.

God will fully satisfy and delight you. He may use your covenant partner to do that, or He may not. It doesn’t matter how He does it; He will do it. He will do it so that you know that He is the great Treasure; anything else would be deception and disappointment. He knows how to love you, and He knows how to love you well.

Cheering for you,

Tami

Starving at a Banquet, and Staring at my Feet

Jun22

Imagine that you go to a grand banquet. With great excitement, you find your name on a place-setting at the table. As you sit there, you focus on your name card. You focus on your name card even as the warm bread is passed. You focus on your name card as the savory soup and then the juicy steak go by. You focus on your name card as the chocolate cheesecake comes around and as the coffee is served.  As the evening goes on, you wonder why your stomach is growling.

It is important for believers to know that we are the children of God, the valued sheep of His flock, and the apple of His eye. However, if our focus remains on who we are, our healing will not be complete, and our joy will not be full.

Think about it this way: it would be a good thing to learn that we were someone’s child and that we had a father, right? But that joy, in itself, would be quite limited. The full joy would come in knowing that our father was a kind and patient man!

The fact that we are  beloved children of God gives us joy and brings us into God’s Presence. But too often, we stand there and stare at our own feet. Focused on ourselves, we say, “I am God’s child. I am loved.” We wonder why our healing does not progress and why our joy does not grow.

But then … we feel the gentle fingers of Jesus beneath our chin, lifting our head so that our eyes see Him. Here is our full healing! When the Lifter of our Head becomes the focus of our eyes, then is our joy made complete.

It is good to see that our feet are bought by Christ, but our healing  progresses when we then focus on the pierced feet of Jesus Who bought us! It is good to know that we are sheep of God’s flock, but our joy is made full as we then focus on the gentleness and wisdom and goodness of our Shepherd.

Our list of who we are in Christ (“I am chosen; I am accepted; I am loved; etc.”) is what we stand on in order to see the awesome “I AM” of God.  God uses my “I am … ” to lift my head to see His “I AM.”  Our complete healing and full joy come from focusing on Him and on savoring Who He Is.

My “I am … ” helps me to find my place at the table, but His “I AM” is the feast!

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus.  Consider Him, so that you do not grow weary or discouraged (Hebrews 12:2,3).