Starving to death
February 9, 2017
I watch the television series “Alone.” This season, there were 10 individuals who were left in isolated places throughout Patagonia, in the southern end of South America. Their goal is to survive as long as possible by themselves. They have a few tools given to them, but basically they must live from the land, build their own shelter and trap their own food. They each have cameras in order to self-document their journey, and each has a means to call and say “I quit.” Whoever stays the longest, wins $500,000. I could never do it. I would be starving by the end of the very first day!
It’s interesting to see how creative people are. Some weave fish traps from bamboo. Another made wind chimes from bones just to keep her hands busy and her mind occupied. The most difficult thing for them this season has been to find enough food.
One of the men planned for the future in regards to his food. Each time he caught a fish, he saved half of it, drying it to be used later on days when he didn’t catch any fish. It was a great plan. Over time, though, he became overly concerned about saving for the future and didn’t eat enough to sustain himself. So, in last week’s episode, when the team of doctors stopped by to make sure each person was not physically in danger, they discovered that this man was truly starving himself. His blood pressure was too low for his safety. They forced him to quit. He was so distraught! He kept saying, “I have food! I can eat!” He was literally starving himself to death, when there were 30 fish-halves hanging in his tent.
I pondered this for a few days. It’s such a perfect picture of what we do to ourselves spiritually. Jesus said, “Man does not live by bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). My Bible can sit on my counter, or in my drawer for days, containing all the spiritual food I need, but it doesn’t do any good if I don’t open it and consume it. In the meantime, I get hungry. It shows up in various ways: depression, loneliness, hopelessness, confusion, grouchiness, anger, indecision….. And it’s completely unnecessary because there’s food available.
If you let your body go far enough into starvation mode, you won’t even feel hunger anymore. Don’t let that happen to you spiritually. Don’t starve yourself. Today, open the Bible and read it. It will nourish your soul.
SO TRUE … it is set before us … like a full plate of all we love…. all we have to do is take it …. sad we fall for satan’s tricks to keep us away …. however we have been warned…
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVANTHOOD IN CHRIST … BLESSINGS YOUR WAY.