Living Not Surving

Living Not Surviving

Do you want free food and drink? Who doesn't? I know I want free food and drink. Now the question is do you want free food and drink of the physical kind or of the spiritual kind? Why? It makes a big difference because spiritual food and drink is the kind that everyone needs no matter what. We may think we only need physical food and drink, but that is only surviving, not living. We need to find the food that gives strength, we need to find the food that does good for us, we want to enjoy the finest food. So why do we need this? Because we need to do more than survive, we need to live. But do you know where you can find this food? I know where it is, because I've eaten of it. I've enjoyed this food and I want you to know about it too. I may not have the info on the best physical food in the world, but I do know where you can find the best food for the spiritual body. Lets read from Isaiah 55:1-2

¹ “Is anyone thirsty? Come and drink— even if you have no money! Come, take your choice of wine or milk— it’s all free! ² Why spend your money on food that does not give you strength? Why pay for food that does you no good? Listen to me, and you will eat what is good. You will enjoy the finest food.” God is talking about His word, here. His word is the food and drink that will take care of us, that strengthens and supplies. It does good for us and is the finest ever prepared. God's word, the Bible does for us what regular food and drink can not. It nourishes in a way that is eternal, not temporal. Do we need it daily? Yes. Do we get it daily? No. What we do get daily is; time, food, air, drink, stress.....you know life. What we don't get daily is the nourishment that God provides. I am not preaching like one who has it all together. I don't have it all together. Not every day do I get my nourishment from God. Nor do I seek it out each and every day. I too, get busy and I'm not as diligent at seeking my heavenly meal. I read a daily devotional each day, but that is like having a snack. It's not like getting the whole meal that leaves you full and satisfied. It can be like junk food, or a simple snack. It may fill you momentarily, but it does not fill you long term. I want to be filled long term. I want a meal that lasts for hours, not a snack that lasts a few minutes. This area of life is so important that Jesus spoke of it about a dozen different times and in multiple ways. Here is a really good example where Jesus is talking to the woman at the well.

John 4:13-14 (NLT) ¹³ Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. ¹⁴ But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”

He is talking about the living Word of God. Jesus is that nourishment. Don't you want to have a fresh, bubbling spring within, giving eternal life? I do. I want to spread that eternal life to others. God wants so much for us. He wants us to be this fresh, bubbling spring. He wants us to have eternal life. All because He loves us. Do you know what one of my favorite verses says about what God wants for us? Here it is:

Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT) ¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

God was talking to the captives who were in Babylon. This is valid for us and all generations too. God had plans for us that include good, a future and hope, not disaster. God gives good things and is always providing for us. God would have held His son back from the Cross if He wanted to leave us the way we were going. God gave the greatest gift in the history of the world. He gave us His son so we would have eternal life. He provided a way for us to come to Him. God had planned our salvation from the beginning. God is always giving to us. All throughout the Bible He is talking about what He wants to give His people. Always speaking about taking care of them. Always showing ways that He loves His people. I want what God is offering. God is offering a life like no other. He wants to provide for us. He is providing for us. God is always stretching out His hand to us.

So God is providing for us, what we need, and has given us His word to bring nourishment to our spiritual bodies, our souls. If we want God's provisions, then why do we consistently seek to ignore God's word? Because we don't want a side order of truth. We want to be bubbling springs, but we don't want the truth that goes with it. Why? Because the truth is, we need God in our lives. We only survive when we try to skip the truth. We can learn to live if we accept the truth. The truth is we need God and God wants to be a part of our lives. The truth of life is that we need Jesus, God's Son as our Savior, we need the Holy Spirit to guide us and we need God to be our Father. So to live life we need truth, you know that important side salad. Just like salad is good for the body, truth is good for the soul. God's word is the truth and it nourishes like nothing else can. We can go through life without the salad, but we lose the benefits of a healthy lifestyle. Just like going through life without the truth, we lose the benefits of a healthy lifestyle for our soul. WE NEED THIS! Just like making right choices about what to eat, we need to make right choices about what we put into our soul. What we see, read, watch, listen to. It can corrupt the soul and ends up coming out in our actions, words and thoughts. We want to fill ourselves with the truth. So we need to let God into our lives. Otherwise what good is life, when we only survive? So what do you want? Do you want to live or do you just want to survive?

Now here is something that God informs us will help us live life not survive life. Read the Bible! More than once a week, that is. Don't just snack on it from small devotionals. Here is what God has to say: Deuteronomy 17:18-20 (NLT)
¹⁸ “When he sits on the throne as king, he must copy for himself this body of instruction on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. ¹⁹ He must always keep that copy with him and read it daily as long as he lives. That way he will learn to fear the Lord his God by obeying all the terms of these instructions and decrees. ²⁰ This regular reading will prevent him from becoming proud and acting as if he is above his fellow citizens. It will also prevent him from turning away from these commands in the smallest way. And it will ensure that he and his descendants will reign for many generations in Israel.”

That same instruction applies to us today. We are not Kings, but we have been given the Bible and it is our copy of instructions and commands that will do the same for us. God's word says to “read it daily as long as he lives” so as to learn to fear the Lord God by obeying all the instructions and decrees. Do you see what that regular reading will do for us. It will prevent us from being proud and acting above others. It keeps our hearts turned toward God.

Do you know what happens when you face the sun? You feel warm. You get tan. People notice that you have been outside by your outlook and your skin. There is an outward appearance that shows that you have been out in the sun. Some people even smile more. Imagine that. So it goes with God's word. If you spend more time in God's word, learning and listening to what He has to say then you too will show a different appearance. You may smile more. But more importantly others will notice that you are different. That you are spending more time in something that has made a change in your outward appearance. If you spend your time wisely and in God's word then you will notice a change and so will others.

So do you want free food and drink, the finest ever found? Then remember to get your daily nourishment, both physical and spiritual. Read the Bible daily and take time with God. You will enjoy the finest free food and drink you have ever found. You will be filled and others will notice a change in your life, too. You will open yourself up to God and that will help you Live life not just Survive it.