Let's start with another poem!
"'Follow your heart and be yourself.'
But my heart is confused and I don't know who I am.
But You hold my heart and I am yours, this I know.
But why don't I live like it when it's the best way to live?
Why do I want the world when I know it can't give me what I need?
Why is the flesh winning when the Spirit is all-powerful?
"It's about what I am feeding myself.
Two wolves, which wolves, the ones that guide me.
I feed the one I want to, but I'm doing it wrong,
Because I don't want to feed that one but I do it anyway.
Because the world is easy, we're in it, not of it, but it's right there.
But You're here.
The straight and narrow is hard to see but it's there."
You are most likely familiar with the parable of the two wolves in one form or another, but it is the idea of these two wolves fighting, one representing darkness and evil, and one representing good. Which one will win? The one you feed.
So what are you feeding your soul? For me, I've had my fair share of binging on lollies (in an entirely metaphorical sense of course...). A quick fix in the moment, something small and sweet, unhealthy, but a little energy boost, a temporary solution. But the thing with lollies is that they actually make you hungrier! It's a marketing fact actually, fast food places have drinks sugary enough to make you hungry, and food salty enough to make you thirsty again. But we have it anyway! Spiritual 'lollies' like scrolling on my phone instead of opening my Bible as much as I could and should, even with the knowledge of how unhealthy and unhelpful it really is. But it's more desirable in the moment. And when we don't have strong self-control, we just end up feeling sick afterwards. We recognise what it's doing, we see it actually changing and damaging our minds, but we keep going back.
But there is a better option. We could have a healthier, more sustainable, meal. Something that will make us feel fulfilled for longer, something better for us, actually helps and strengthens our minds. We're less inclined to opt for this however, because it takes a bit more effort. It becomes automatic to just grab the snacks, it takes intention to do something more beneficial and requiring a bit more effort. It will sustain for longer though, things like prayer, worship, reading your Bible, talking to God or with others, fellowship, or even just taking a step back and not doing something. Just sitting and allowing God to move in your heart. Meditate on what He has been showing you. We are created for fellowship with God, our souls starve if we don't allow ourselves those moments of inviting Him into our day.
Because even with having the lollies, you do eventually need a meal. We just fill our time and energy with the cheap sweet stuff, avoiding the necessary meal, not making our lives easier, contrary to our belief at the time.
I tried to survive off lollies for a while, and it just left me feeling empty (again with the metaphors). You can see in the start of the poem that when we starve ourselves of time with God and in His Word, we are left with a lot of questions and not a lot of answers. And it is automatic to go back to those quick-fixes, but you don't need to get rid of those demons before walking with Jesus and having Him dine with you. Psalm 23.5 says that He will prepare a table in the presence of your enemies. He doesn't set a place for them, He knows that they don't belong to you and you don't belong to them, and they don't have a place in your life or at your table. But He doesn't wait until they go away, you don't have to fight them yourself. He prepares a table in the midst.
The hearty meal I talked about above is time with Him, whatever that looks like in your life. Let's get this bread! Rather, "our daily bread" (Matthew 6.11), reading His Word. He is right there when you do, that is valuable time with your Lord.
So this is an invite to, with me, take note of what you're feeding your soul, bring it to God, and ask for His help to improve your spiritual diet.
** This post is not judging eating junk food, it's for the metaphor :)
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