Soul Food

Soul Food

Your soul will delight in the richest of fare. Isa 55:2

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1 "Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. 2 Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.

8 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. 9 "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. 10 As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, 11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. 12 You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. 13 Instead of the thornbush will grow the pine tree, and instead of briers the myrtle will grow. This will be for the LORD's renown, for an everlasting sign, which will not be destroyed." Isaiah 55:1-2, 8-13 (NIV)

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Many frustrating and sometimes humorous memories are formed around the supper
table of young families. The challenge of learning to use a spoon produces some
situations ripe with the process of maturing. The infant is eager to get the food from
the plate to his or her mouth. The parents find patience is their greatest challenge.

In our home, our son was not very interested in some of the tastes! To encourage
him to eat a broad selection of foods, we contrived dive bombers, special names
and promises of wonderful benefits. Liver became ‘hokinus-pokinus.’ Forgive the
spelling as this is the first time I have tried to put the word in print. He still refused
to eat it! Then there were the carrots. We told him that if he ate carrots, it would
give him curly hair. One night at supper, the little guy pushed back from the
table and said, “I don’t want my carrots and I don’t want curly hair!”

Our heavenly Father is anxious to help His children grow into full maturity. He has
provided us with wonderful food in the Scriptures. If we commit to feeding on the
fullest aspects of the Scriptures through regular snacks and meals, we can be
nourished in our walk with Jesus. Not only that, Isaiah reveals that we will
encounter joy and peace that would otherwise be absent as we face our challenges.
The Holy Spirit delights in taking those things that don’t leave a good taste in our
mouths, and changing the experiences into ultimate blessings for those
who commit to feeding on God’s written Word.

Do you have time today to snack on a portion of Scripture? Read until you capture
a significant thought and then pause to digest it and make it part of who you are.
Tomorrow? Another snack? Who knows, maybe it will become a habit.

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Heavenly Father, thank You for being so patient with me. I know that You have
plans for my life that are beyond my own expectations. You desire to have me grow
more and more into the likeness of Your only begotten Son, Jesus. To do this, You
must take me from infancy towards maturity. Sometimes I kick and scream because
I am afraid of what I do not understand. Help me today as I face my challenges so
that I will be open to what will strengthen me. Use today’s events to help
me grow stronger in my faith. Amen.

For the next while our Friday blogs will be excerpts form a book of daily devotionals by Noel Churchman. Noel was the Executive Director of Christian Horizons form 1976 to 2001. The devotionals we will be using are from a book he wrote in 2005 called “Walking with God”. Noel’s reflections are grounded in his experiences as an educator, and provider of supports for individuals with exceptional needs as well as his life as a dedicated follower of Christ.