God is my drug

Psalm 4:7
"You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound."

Addictions. We all have them. Some go to alcohol, some to sex, some to drugs, some to food. There are millions of things this world (and the enemy) has contrived to take us away from our first love. I love the old commercials that would show a teenager doing something he or she loved and would say "such and such is my anti-drug." I used to think God was my anti-drug. That my faith and my love for Jesus would keep me from doing the things that the "dregs of society" fall into. If this were true for all Christians, though, why do so many believers have the same addictions as the unsaved?

Anything can become a drug. In my opinion, obsession and addiction go hand in hand. Just as anything can become an idol if you let get in the way of your relationship with God, that same thing can become a drug if you let yourself become too dependent on it. In this light, even another person can be your drug. Dictionary.com defines addiction as "the state of being enslaved to a habit or practice or to something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming... to such an extent that its cessation causes severe trauma." When someone is addicted to something, trying to leave that addiction causes withdrawal. Withdrawal is defined as "Discontinuation of the use of an addictive substance. The physiological and mental readjustment that accompanies such discontinuation." Withdrawal can be painful for addicts; they begin to crave their drug again and many times go back to using.

If you find yourself (as we all do) struggling with an addiction of any kind, instead of letting God be your anti-drug, why not let Him be your drug? I want to be addicted to God. I want to go through withdrawal when I don't spend time with Him. I want to need Him so badly to survive, to not be able to go a day without my "fix." It may seem unconventional, but Jesus wants every piece of us. If there's any empty space in us we're trying to fill with something else, He wants to fill it. God doesn't just want some, He wants all. So if you're going to be addicted to something, why can't it be God? The Skillet song "Better Than Drugs" says it this way,

"You're better than drugs
Your love is like wine
Feel you comin' on so fast
Feel you comin' on to get me high
You're better than drugs
Addicted for life..."

Further reading: 1 Corinthians 10 (this whole chapter is amazing!)

Rest

Matthew 11:27-29
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."

Sometimes the simplest things are the hardest to see. Sometimes we spend so much time looking for the bigger truth that we miss what is right in front of our face. Sometimes we spend so much time trying to be cerebral and intelligent that we lose our common sense. Sound familiar? I know I do it all the time.

I woke up late this morning, exhausted as usual from my activities of the weekend. Usually during the week, I am so tired and looking forward to the weekend so I can rest. Then why I am so drained again Monday?

Rest. A foreign word to many of us. Yet Jesus says "Come to me, all you who are weary... I will give you rest." Why are so many Christians tired all the time then? I think the simple answer is we don't go to Jesus with our busy tasks. We don't seek Him for help first before we get overburdened with life's many wearying situations.

I will leave you with just one question this week: what is so important that it can't wait one more hour so you can sit and rest awhile with the Savior? Sure, all those things you have on your plate are important. But more important than the King of the universe? Hardly. I think if we take a second, stop feeling so self-important as if the fate of the free world rests on our shoulders, we will see the simple things around us. The beauty waiting to be admired. The Comforter waiting to give us rest. Stop rushing around for at least 5 minutes this week and let the One who gives rest hold you in His arms. It might just re-energize you to be the superhero you think you are.

(If) Delight (then) Desires

Psalm 37:4
"Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart."

It's a familiar verse, one I'm sure most have heard before. But what does it really mean to delight yourself in the Lord?

Dictionary.com defines delight as "to have great pleasure; take pleasure (in)." I love the example they give: "She delights in going for long walks in the country." What an image! Does that mean we can enjoy God's presence the way we enjoy a beautiful garden or a mountain landscape? The only answer I can come up with is an emphatic YES! But life is busy... so how do we delight in the Lord when we're running the race at a hundred miles an hour?

We must become explorers, people who seek new and unconventional ways to spend time with God. Finding the beauty in the mundane is not an easy thing, but the rewards are great. In the song "Just Showed Up for My Own Life," Sara Groves explains what it was like when she stopped living life "sleepwalking" and woke up to the beauty of God all around us. "I'm going to live my life inspired; Look for the holy in the commonplace." Delighting in God isn't difficult, once you know what you're looking for. It simply requires a mindset to find "the holy in the commonplace."

But what about those desires? "And he will give you the desires of your heart." That's a weighty promise. What does your heart desire? I know mine desires a lot. The problem with the heart is that the Bible also says "the heart is deceitful above all things" (Jer. 17:9). The great thing about God is that He never changes. While the desires of our heart may ebb and flow, His desires for us remain the same. If we really spend the time to delight ourselves in Him, His desires will become our desires. Then we are truly left with a win-win situation. Not only will we be delighted, we will also get our desires!

Introduction

Encouraged in Heart: Devotions to uplift the spirit.

Colossians 2:2-3
"My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge."

Hello, my name is Alannah. I am not a prophet or a preacher. I am just a girl, completely in love with her Jesus, who has a burden for the brothers and sisters in Christ who are perpetually being attacked by the enemy. Spiritual warfare is real and constantly going on around us. I see many of the ones I love most in pain and it grieves me. God has given us a joy and peace to withstand all trials, but often life gets in the way and we lose sight of that. The purpose of these devotions is to encourage my brothers and sisters to "press on toward the goal to win the prize" (Phil. 3:14) and to "not become weary in doing good" (Gal. 6:9). May you be encouraged in heart!

Love in Christ,
Alannah