HUNGRY FOR MORE OF GOD?
Walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. Colossians l: 10.Happy New Year, my friends. May God’s goodness and blessing be yours in abundance in 2016!
- Are you the reflective sort? Do you look back and ask God for insights about situations you encountered in 2015?
- Are you a little nervous as you enter a brand new year—wondering what it might bring? Where God might lead and maybe stretch you?
- Or are you smiling, excited, wanting to press on to lay hold of why God laid hold of you? (Philippians 3:12)
I have to confess, I’m a mix of all three, and more!
More than anything, I want to keep close to God in 2016. I believe you do too. As I’ve reflected on what keeps me close, what increases my desire, and what I need to stay fruitful, I’ve developed a list which I’ll share with you this year. Here’s the first essential: Feed Your Hunger for God. Most mornings I get to spend some special time reading the Word, thinking, praying, and journaling about what I sense God is saying to me. I also feed MY HUNGER FOR GOD through reading what other Christians have learned about the walk of faith. Like many of you, I know I need all the help I can get!As a gift for the New Year, let me share with you quotes from three books that God is currently using to speak into my life:
- Streams in the Desert. L.B. Cowman, Zondervan. I’ve mentioned this daily devotional before. It’s an older devotional but it’s taught me a great deal about how God trains, transforms, and deepens us in life’s circumstances.
“As believers we live by faith not by sight. God never wants us to live by our feelings. Our inner self may want us to live by feelings, and Satan may want us to, but God wants us to face facts, not feelings.”
“He draws close to me in order to mature my wisdom, deepen my peace, increase my courage, and supplement my power. All this He does so that through the very experience that is so painful and distressing to me, I will be of greater use to others.”
- His Victorious Indwelling. Edited by Nick Harrison, Zondervan. I was drawn by the words, Daily Devotions for a Deeper Christian Life. With quotes from Oswald Chambers, Dwight L Moody, Spurgeon, St. Augustine, Corrie Ten Boom, Tozer, John Wesley and many others, each morning brings encouragement, or conviction!
“Whenever we make whole-hearted, absolute, unquestioning, positive, final abandonment of our life to God, filling with the Spirit results.”
“We can never be said to have outlived our usefulness, unless we have outlived our spirituality.”
- Grace Points—Growth and Guidance in Times of Change. Jane Rubietta, IVP Press. I had this book beside my bed for several months when I picked it up a few days ago. I was riveted by what I read. There were concepts and words that powerfully spoke to my heart and mind, bringing light into an area of darkness. Again, these are words that seep into your soul and if you’re hungry for God, will satisfy your longing.
“Our choices remain; to let the soil of our life become bitter and barren or to open ourself to God’s goodness in the midst of things we do not understand, receiving all that he longs to plant within us.”
“Much of life is about choice: about choosing to live while we’re alive, not being half present and just trudging through… I could wallow in the worries surrounding me, letting them seep inside…I could focus on the problems, the doubts, the what-ifs. I could easily focus on the past, the pain, the people who hurt or trouble me.
“In a world shot through with glory I will not live gray. I will miss God if I live gray.”
Qu: I’ve shared with you what I’m currently feeding on. What about you? I’d love to get your input through commenting on my Facebook page, Twitter, or email.Be sure and read the side column where I share my next adventure and need for prayer.I’m blessed to share God’s encouragement with you,Poppy [Tweet "Are you hungry for more of God in 2016? #spiritualgrowth"][Tweet "What keeps you close to God? #spiritualgrowth"]Photos: DollarPhoto Club