The Word of God is like an ocean. It is inexhaustible; the more you take from it, the more is available to you; the deeper you go into it, the greater and richer the depth you have. So how come some Christian folks just love to admire this ocean and never get to really drink from it?
There is a medical condition called anorexia nervosa, data has it that anorexia is mostly common with young women between the ages of 17 and 42. It is extreme body emaciation caused by an emotional or psychological aversion to food and eating. Folks with anorexia appear unconcerned with their undernourished state and do not feel hungry. In simple terms, a young woman with anorexia nervosa avoids food.
I have found out that there is such a thing called spiritual anorexia, not in any way peculiar with any gender or age group, and it is spreading so fast.
What is spiritual anorexia?
Spiritual anorexia is an aversion to reading the scriptures. We’ve seen on TV and social media tragic pictures of starving children in the northern part of Nigeria and some other places in the world. Many of them are so weak that they cannot even stand up. Anorexic folks are just as weak spiritually as those children are physically. Why? Because they lack nutritious food. Friend, the Word of God is food to your spirit, you need strength and vitality for your life’s journey, and you can only get that as you feast consistently on the Word.
Oh how I love the truth revealed in Jeremiah 15:16;
When your words showed up, I ate them — swallowed them whole. What a feast! What delight I took in being yours, O GOD, GOD-of-the-Angel-Armies! [MSB]
Jesus answered…
It takes more than bread to stay alive. It takes a steady stream of words from God’s mouth.— Matt.4.4 [MSB]
The enemy doesn’t mind you having several translations of the Bible, holding it in high esteem as long as you don’t read it. Why? He knows that whatever enters your mind and occupies your thoughts has the capacity to deliver to you into your destiny. If you are constantly thinking God-grade thoughts via reading the scriptures, you will definitely have God-grade results. In many quarters the Bible is revered but not read.
As dangerous as anorexia is, something else affecting most believers is even worse. It is spiritual bulimia. To understand the spiritual side of bulimia, we must take a look at the physical variety.
Dr Raymond Vath, a Medical Practitioner, defined the condition this way; he said “Bulimia is an illness with recurrent, compulsive episodes of binge eating followed by self-induced vomiting and/or purging with laxatives” Spiritually speaking, bulimia is the consistent reading and hearing of the Word without personal application. However, in the Christian life application is the name of the game.
A patient with bulimia will binge and take in a tremendous amount of food, only to quickly vomit, thus denying the body the nutrients it needs.
The danger in the Christian life comes when I listen to a message or series of teachings without applying the truths I hear to my life. That is spiritual bulimia.
Spiritual bulimia is an aversion to applying the scriptures to my life. Scriptural facts may be in my mind, but I am not integrating them into my life, i am chewing the food and swallowing it, but only for a while, then I get rid of the food preventing digestion, nourishment and ultimately growth, without meditation leading to application, there is no spiritual digestion, and I continue to lose strength.
Do you remember James 1:22? The Apostle said
But prove yourselves obedient to the Message, and do not be mere hearers of it, imposing a delusion upon yourselves (WNT)
James describes spiritual bulimia. The man who hears the Word of God has received knowledge, but knowledge is not the goal. The goal is to do the Word. The man must obey; that’s where the blessing lies. God’s pathway and plan for the believer is from ignorance to knowledge and knowledge to obedience. Obedience means that I apply His Word to my life and circumstances. If I don’t do that, then I am binging and purging. I eat the Word and run into some bathroom to throw up the spiritual truth I’ve just heard. A believer has spiritual bulimia when he consistently refuses to apply a known scriptural principle to his life. The scripture simply states about Ezra
Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the Lord, and to practice it — Ezra 7:10 (NASB)
Are you feeling overwhelmed and discouraged in your walk with the Lord? It doesn’t matter your spiritual activity on the outside. The devil doesn’t mind you spiritually active so long as he can keep you spiritually ineffective. Have you lost your zest and enthusiasm in following hard after Christ? Have you so given in to habitual sin that it now threatens to sink you? Has your schedule become so crowded that you haven’t picked up your Bible except on Sundays? As you step on the spiritual scales, do you find yourself weighing in at less than half of your normal weight? Don’t lose heart! There is a way to turn it around.
We will undergo Four Surgical Procedures that will eternally cure anorexic and bulimic tendencies in your walk with the Lord.
- Read through the Bible in one year: Some of you may have tried this. You started well in Genesis, made it through Exodus and died a slow death in Leviticus. Several guides are available to keep this from happening. I would recommend the Olive Tree Bible in one year plan, but you can use any other plan that works for you. The text is divided into daily readings. Each day you read a section of the Old Testament, the New Testament, and a section each from Psalms and Proverbs. The beautiful thing about this is that you can start on any date and jump right into a systematised approach to the scripture. Your daily time in the Word will bring tremendous value, impacting every facet of your illustrious life. Get started today!
- Meditation: This surgical procedure is found in the First Psalm “…and, he meditates day and night on his law.”
Meditation is to the soul, what digestion is to the body. That is, meditation is spiritual digestion. Meditation requires reading, but it is possible to read without meditating. The emphasis here is to consider what is being read, pondering the significance of what God says in His Word. Considering, Pondering and Applying the truth of scripture is the end game of meditation.
The Word meditate from Joshua 1:8 is from the Hebrew word “Hagar”; an X-ray that reveals a twin (two in one) concept. Hagar simply means to think/cogitate upon something until it becomes an obsession with you. It also means to mutter words to yourself until they capture your inner awareness or consciousness.
Meditation is to think and put your mind on God’s Word. You place your thoughts within the confines and circumference of God’s Word. You make the thoughts of God your thoughts. You speak God’s word so much to yourself that it dictates your thought trend.
My mouth shall speak wisdom, And the meditation of my heart shall give understanding. — Ps.49.3
How you get to understand scripture and what God is telling you to be and do per time is via meditation. This is the only way folks, the resultant effect is wisdom, for by wisdom is a house (your life) built.
Those who meditate often find it easier to memorise scriptures. Meditation is the simplest pathway to storing up scriptures in your heart and mind.
3. Listen to the Bible and Messages: Some of us have unbelievable commutes. As we drive, on the bus; listen to the Bible. You can stop at certain points and think about what you are hearing and how you can apply it that day at the office or when you get home. In the same vein, listen to messages, I strongly recommend The Powerpoint Tribe, you will be amazed at how much truth will cascade into your life.
4. Find someone or a group of people to share the Word with regularly: As you learn the principles of God’s Word, don’t keep it to yourself; share it generously. The more you share God’s word, the more you are inspired to learn some more. Don’t spend all your time in empty banters; talk about what the Lord is teaching you and how you are applying it. What an absolute Joy.
Now that we’ve had a successful surgery, let’s go out there and do the Word!!
His Prevailing Blessings this week.
Michael D.Olaniyi
@mdolaniyi