Spiritual Meal-Course #3: The Entree
The third course in our 5 course meal plan to maintain our “Spiritual appetite”, is the Entree course. The Entree is an entrance into the Main Meal. It is a number of small courses on one plate to start the dinner. There are expectations to this portion.
The Entree is brought to the table, encouraging you to seek God first. On this plate are some answers to “How we make knowing God, our #1 goal.”
We will refer to Psalm 63:1; Oh God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
This chapter causes me to reflect on the last sermon my husband, Matt, preached on, “Are you just Convienced or Committed at 70mph?”. David shows in Psalm 63, how committed he was in his relationship with God, because he kept God his #1 priority under pressure. No matter what pressures come into your life, you will be able to handle them properly if you maintain this one priority above all else.... Earnestly seek after God!
Our expectations of this portion of the meal, should cause great excitement in our hearts! We are feasting to ingest how we are to pursue our Creator and make Him our first priority in this life!
First, what does it mean to seek after God?
a) SEEK to have an intimate and personal relationship with God
b) SEEK to always desire more of Him
David knew God in an intimate, personal way.
Have you ever thought about the difference between knowing about a person and actually knowing that person? When you know about someone, that means you have read or heard about who they are through articles, books, word of mouth, or social media but have never met or spent time with them. When you know someone, it would require an introduction and then spending hours with them over a long period of time. As a relationship developed, you would begin to discover, and possibly desire, to know them more and more as a close friend.
That is how David knew God and that's how it must be if we make seeking God our #1 goal. When the time comes that we meet God personally through Jesus Christ, we turn from our sin and trust Him with every facet of our life. We develop our relationship with Him by spending time with our Creator through weeks, months, and years, in every kind of circumstance that life on earth brings. Seek an intimate relationship with the God you have met personally!
Second, what does the person look like who seeks God
a)The person that SEEKS has satisfaction
b)The person that SEEKS has joy
c)The person that SEEKS has stability & strength
David's soul was at rest even in the middle of a rebellion. He was able to have peace because he was satisfied in God. David spent time feasting with the Lord. He had a joy not based on circumstances. Even if you feel like your whole world is falling apart, if you feast with God on a regular basis, you can sing and rejoice because you have God's loyal love! Hide under God's wing. Because God's hand uphold's you and sustains you, you will be steady in the storm!
One more thing I would like to point out at the end of this chapter. David was not consumed with thoughts of getting even. He knew that God is just and the wicked would not prevail because of time spent with Him. Therefore, David could give God this situation. He would make the choice to rejoice in God and let God deal with his enemies. David was not asking God to give him his wives back, his palace back, or his kingdom back. He prayed, “I shall seek You; my soul thirst for You; my flesh yearns for You; Your love is better than life”. WOW! Lord, help me to speak my love for you in times of trouble.
Like was said in course #2, it is easy to fill your life with things other than God. Some may be good things, but they are not God, and God alone can satisfy your soul. Seeking after God means to have an intimate personl relationship with Him, always to desire more of Him, and to pursue God alone.
We will move on to course #4.....the Main Meal....how do we seek God, Get Into God's Word Everyday.
Bon a petite (may you enjoy your meal with a good appetite)