By: Hanny Lynn Stearns
Fish N
Loaves Ministries, Inc.
“Multiplying
God’s Word Around The Globe”
August 22, 2016
Who/What Do You
Serve?
Matthew
4:10
Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is
written,
‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you
shall serve.’”
The big question today
is this: Who or what do you serve? For a person who has struggled with
addiction yet calls themselves a born again question, this has been a difficult
question to answer at times. The passage above makes it clear. We are to
worship God alone, serve only Him.
When we become addicted
to something in the natural realm like a drug, food, a cigarette, alcohol, or
some other thing that is pulling at our attention, we begin to worship and
serve it – we serve the created rather than the Creator. Jesus knew very well
who the number one person was to be in His life – it was His Father in heaven.
He worshipped no person, place or thing. He only worshipped God in heaven – His
heavenly Father.
People who are addicted
to something are basically saying without mouthing the words that they worship
the thing they are addicted to. They serve it by subjecting themselves to its
influence and power in their lives. They run to it for comfort rather than God.
And when it runs out they will go to any length to replenish it. If it is food,
people will eat until they are sick – ask me how I know this. Or they will drink
until they pass out. But at the end of it all, they are only left feeling
physically ill, mentally exhausted and spiritually empty.
Christians have a God in
heaven who can satisfy their every need. He never forsakes us. He will never
turn down a cry for help. Imagine how joy filled He would be if we went to Him
before a binge of eating or getting drunk or drugged up and said something like
this, “Lord, I am hungry right now, but I don’t know what I am hungry for. I’m
just hungry.” Or something like this, “Lord, I am thirsty right now. I need a
drink. Help me!” Or what about this – “Father, I am hurting right now. I don’t
even feel comfortable in my own skin – will You help me?”
There are numerous
verses in the Bible that make it abundantly clear that when we call on Him in
our time of need, He will be right there for us. Often, we just don’t get quiet
enough or sit still long enough for Him to begin to do what only He can do to
ease our troubled hearts. Jesus told us not to let our hearts be troubled, but
until the addict gets a hold of that truth, they just need to take that
troubled heart to the Lord and He can calm it. He can make everything look and feel
different when we get in His presence.
One of the things I have
discovered is that when I slow myself down and relax, it becomes easier to sit
with the Lord and receive from Him. But I have to get out of the busy mode. We
need to just sit and get quiet. Many will find that the minute they sit down,
they will start crying. And that’s OK. Obviously there is something inside that
needs to come out. We need to allow the Lord to pull the pain out and rub His
healing balm all over the wound that is oozing.
After a while doing this
will bring a rush of peace over us like a gentle wave of soothing warm water
that just rolled over our heart and soul. That’s the Living Water. I have found
that even though I have more freedom in my eating I want to stay on the narrow
path most of the time. Why? Because I feel so much better when I do. When I
treat my body right by putting the right kind of fuel in it, I get the best
results. I never walk away from a meal feeling uncomfortable or over full. I do
not struggle with heartburn from too many carbs, and my body functions and
eliminates waste so much better. Spiritually, I am at peace. It is the same
with drinking and drugs, etc.
Anything that we are
putting into our bodies that is not good can quickly become something we serve
if we are not very careful. We can get to a place where we are worshipping the
food, drug or drink instead of the Lord, and it can happen very quickly. There
is a very fine line between worshipping something or just taking it for what it
is and moving on. We must exercise self-control over outward things at all
times.
Even this weekend, I had
the freedom to go out to eat and have some food I do not normally eat. I must
admit I went a bit overboard and came away feeling uncomfortable from both
meals where this happened. As I learn to have the freedom to eat a little something
different when I am out, I still have to learn to reign in that desire to “go
crazy” and order too much. I have become so accustomed to eating a smaller
number of calories and such healthy food that my body just screams at me after
I eat too much, as if to say, “What are you doing!?!”
In the end, we have to
worship God with everything we are and have. With every aspect of our lives we
must show Him that He is our first and most important love. We must also show
Him that we are here to serve Him with our whole heart – not just a part of it.
I am here to take you along on my journey of success. When I face a challenge I
will be honest so that it might help you too. We are in this life together and
called to support one another. We are to love each other. If I do well, I need
to share my strength and hope in Christ with you. If I struggled I know I can
share that too so that maybe you will see better what not to do or how it can
help you in the future.
Let’s do what the Master
told satan: worship the Lord our God and serve Him only – together! Praise His
name forever! We can see that in saying this sentence to the devil, Jesus was
working the word. And did the word work for Jesus? You bet it did! Upon hearing
those words of God spoken out in faith from the mouth of our Savior, the devil
had to leave Him. The enemy cannot stand up against the word of God. The word
works when we work it!
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