Day 11 | Apple Pie
January 20th, 2012 § Leave a Comment
Psalm 73:25-26
Whom have I in heaven but thee? And there is nothing upon earth that I desire besides thee. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion for ever.
The evil of the world is not the thing we need to worry about, but the gifts of God. I can go to a great Italian restaurant and only eat half my meal, then the hot apple pie with a scoop of ice cream is placed on the table in front of me. “This is one of God’s gifts,” I say. I told my wife we would share, but I know that I will eat most of it. It’s not my will power that’s the problem, it’s the fact that I desire the apple pie more than I desire God.
I promised God that I would fast dessert for 21 days. “Oh, well just this time. I will go back on the fast tomorrow.” is my excuse, “These are gifts of God.” They are your basic meat and potatoes; and coffee and gardening; and reading and decorating; and traveling and investing; and TV-watching and internet-surfing; and shopping and exercising. All of them can become deadly substitutes for God.
There are so many desires that we have that stand in the way of what Jesus is calling us to: a radically God-oriented living and praying and fasting. So, for the sake of your own soul, and in response to Jesus, and for the advancement of God’s supremacy in all things, for the joy of all peoples, comb your hair, wash your face, and let the Father who sees in secret observe how hungry you are for him with fasting. The Father who sees in secret is brimming with rewards for your joy and for His glory.
