INSPIRATION: be.hold

FEAST OR FIGHT?

Psalm 23:5You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings.”

Isn’t it just like Jesus and His Kingdom that is contrary to the ways of the world, to prepare a feast for us while we’re dodging “bullets” from the enemy? In this life we are assaulted by the lies of the enemy, fears, losses, setbacks, betrayals, disappointments and various trials.

Life comes at us at warp speed and it can be so easy and tempting to get overwhelmed in the swirl of busyness, demands and noise of this temporal realm.

In the midst of all the beauty and the chaos, Jesus invites us to sit at His table to feast with Him and taste His goodness, His kindness, His tenderness, His passion and His bliss.

Psalm 84:11 says, “For the Lord God is a Sun and Shield; the Lord bestows [present] grace and favor and [future] glory (honor, splendor, and heavenly bliss)! No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly.”

The fresh Manna of Heaven’s bliss is revelation, counsel, insight. It’s the best type of “comfort food” for our souls.

Especially in the last 10-15 years our culture has gravitated towards healthier options regarding food. In the same manner I also believe there is a company of people who are spiritually searching and hungry for the genuine Presence of Jesus and His food from Heaven. Everything that the world offers as life giving, is temporary and tainted with “gmos.” – god-like, modified, obstacles! (insert laughing or lame emoticon here, whichever you think is appropriate, hahaha!)

Psalm 78:24 says, “He rained down manna upon them to eat and gave them food from Heaven.”

What a stunning scripture! God doesn’t withhold. He rains down, lavishly pours out His goodness, His life, His peace, His counsel, His grace. He feeds us with food from Heaven which is JESUS Himself!

APPLICATION: be.lieve

John 6:51 “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”
The original Greek text says, “the eating one lives because of Me.” Isn’t that powerful? The “eating” one. Also the word “eats” in the above scripture is present tense. We don’t just eat of His Word when we are born again or just on Sundays, we eat daily and multiple times a day as we set our minds and hearts on Him and feast on His promises.
What is our current spiritual diet? What are we eating? What are we feasting on? More importantly what are we hungry for?

In the current world we live in, with news of terrorism, natural disasters, violence in our cities, constant scrolling of social media news feeds, ever present access to our smart phones and to top it off, all the personal things we face on a day to day basis, (whew!) we can easily be caught in the turbulence of this world. In the frenetic pace of our lives, we fight for time and we end up focusing or feeding on the temporary satisfactions and temporary ‘food’  of this world.

We were made for more! The 1st Adam brought sin not this world because of what he ate. The 2nd Adam (Christ Jesus) brought LIFE into the world because He IS the Bread of Life and we can continually feast on His life!

When we attempt to live each day without feasting on Jesus or receiving revelation from Jesus, we really are not thriving! We’re simply surviving. But it’s not too late beloved one, to cultivate a habit of making it a high priority to sit at the table with Jesus and wine and dine with Him. 🙂

The famous 18th century preacher, Charles Spurgeon who is known as the “prince of preachers”, said, “Go to bed each night, and wake up each morning, with admiring thoughts of God’s goodness, and with adoring thoughts towards God’s greatness. You will find these thoughts to be like bees, that will come home to you laden with honey. Let your soul be a hive of them.” 

Each morning and each night, our souls get to feast on the honey from Heaven! Let’s not live a day without feasting on and savoring the delectable food from Jesus Himself today.

MANIFESTATION: be.come

Pop Quiz

  1. Visualize a banquet table set before you.
    – What do you see?
    – Where is Jesus sitting?
    – Where are you?
    – What are you feasting on? Ask Holy Spirit if it has a meaning and is it symbolic of something the Lord is revealing to you?
    – What is the expression on your face?
    – What is the state of your heart? Write down all that you can as you allow Spirit to bring His healing, peace and joy over your soul.
  2. Journal about some of the things (mindsets, patterns etc) that you feast on that hinder you from feasting on Jesus. (For example: negative thoughts, dwelling on the past, holding onto unforgiveness, regrets, doubts) We’re all in some shape or form, overcoming these and other hurdles. We expose the weaknesses to the light of our Father’s goodness and ask Holy Spirit to breathe on us and empower us to walk in truth and grace.
  3. Write down the scriptures below, and ask Holy Spirit to reveal how these scriptures can be applied to your heart, mind, thought patterns and any soul trauma or disappointments you’ve been carrying. Feast on the living Word Himself, as you meditate and feast on these powerful, satisfying scriptures. Write them down in your journal, write them down on stickies and place them strategically throughout your home, car, at work, so that the Truth within these words, become your reality! Get feastin’!
    • John 6:51
    • Nehemiah 9:20
    • Psalm 78:24
    • Psalm 107:9
    • Hosea 11:4