The Feast Within

 

"Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen"

(Ephesians 3:20,21).

 

The experience of God can be so much greater than any of us have tasted; the pity is that we content ourselves with so little. Compared to the depth of God's riches, our experience of God has often amounted to little more than wading in the shallows. We've satisfied ourselves with so little knowledge of God, hardly more than scraps. Our contentment has been our undoing.

Do we really have any desire that could be called hunger and thirst? Jesus taught that those who will be "filled" are those who long to be filled (Matthew 5:6). And James said simply, "You do not have because you do not ask" (James 4:2). It may be that, in the practical affairs of day‑to‑day living, we're simply refusing to recognize how deeply we really do need God.

Do we have the courage to go more deeply into a relationship with God? To walk closely with God is to go into territory that is, for us, uncharted and often frightening. Somehow we sense that God will require changes in our character so radical and steps in our obedience so dangerous that we find it "safer" to stay where we are in the lowlands, far from the adventure of real life with God. Confronted by disturbing, unpredictable truths, we retreat.

Do we live our lives without ever really knowing what is in the depths of our own soul? Even though we spend much time thinking about ourselves, most of us are little more than strangers to our real selves. We've never really plumbed the depths of all that God created us to be. Vast areas of personal potential lie unexplored. Powerful personal resources lie untapped, resources given to us by God to be used in the service of purposes greater than we've allowed ourselves to dream. We live out the span of our days standing on the threshold of self‑discovery, losing out on real life because we've not dared to let ourselves be lost in God.

With regard to the sumptuous inward feast God has prepared for us, why do we tarry so long on the outside looking in? We are foolish to wait. "Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!" (Psalm 34:8).

 

"I am spiritually hungry. I have lingered too long in the garden outside."

Teresa of Avila