Day 25
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
—MATTHEW 4:4
There is an old Cherokee legend of a grandfather teaching his grandson about life:
“A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy.
“It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil–he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self- pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.”
He continued, “The other is good – he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you–and inside every other person, too.”
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: “Which wolf will win?”
The grandfather simply replied, “The one you feed.”
I want to ask you today, how is your soul doing? Is it starving for nourishment?
Do you find that you have lost the focus or the desire to pray or read the Bible?
Do you constantly feel the pull of the innumerable avenues for entertainment that are at your disposal?
Have you become a fault-finder and become critical of church?
Have you pulled away from people who challenge you and towards those who won’t?
In the desert, the landscape of my soul was made dry and thirsty because I was starving it.
I knew my days would be more focused and positive if I spent time in God’s Word, but my alarm was just so early. I knew it would refresh my soul if I listened to a sermon or a podcast or worship music, but Netflix just kept calling my name. I knew that a day is 1440 minutes and that a life is simply a long series of those minutes, but that didn’t stop me from finding ways to kill them off doing a whole lot of nothing.
The more I fed my flesh by doing what I felt like doing, and starved my soul by not doing what I knew I should, the more I was filled with emptiness, guilt, and shame. Cut off from its primary source of nourishment (God’s Word), my soul was drying up within me. The evil wolf within me was growing fat and strong while the good wolf weakened and starved. Starving my soul deafened my ears to the voice of God and left me defenseless to the attacks of the enemy.
“That is why the real problem of the Christian life comes where people do not usually look for it. It comes the very moment you wake up each morning. All your wishes and hopes for the day rush at you like wild animals. And the first job each morning consists simply in shoving them all back; in listening to that other voice, taking that other point of view, letting that other larger, stronger, quieter life come flowing in. And so on, all day. Standing back from all your natural fussings and frettings; coming in out of the wind.”
—CS Lewis
Let’s come in out of the wind today. Ask God to remind you of the battle between your soul and your flesh. Commit to “letting that other larger, stronger, quieter life come flowing in” by reading or listening to God’s Word every day, by remembering to invite Him into every part of your day, and by quickly and sincerely repenting when you fall short.
The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
—LAMENTATIONS 3:22-23 (ESV)
