Echoes of Truth
January 29th
Theme: Passionate Hunger
To be content without the enjoyment of God is a thing I do not understand. — Madame Jeanne Guyon
There is a kind of contentment that feels harmless. Your life is moving. You’re doing well. You’re functioning, you’re planning, you’re achieving, you’re laughing. Nothing is “wrong.”
However, beneath the calm exterior, something as sacred as the ache for God’s presence has become silent.
Your heart no longer panics when prayer is rushed, when Scripture is skipped, when God’s presence is replaced with productivity.
A soul that has learned to live without the enjoyment of God and calls it peace. Ah!
This is a dangerous zone to be in. And the tragedy here is how we’re quick to adjust.
No one suddenly wakes up one day deciding to abandon God. It happens simply by learning how to manage life without leaning fully on Him.
Like Martha in Luke 10:40-42, such a life stays busy and useful while intimacy quietly slips to the background even when the Lord is close-by.
One thing to note here is that Jesus did not rebuke Martha’s service. He was more concerned about how distracted she was.
She had found delight in doing things for Him rather than finding delight in being near Him. That was the one thing Mary, her sister, chose wisely.
Jesus said, “You are worried and troubled about many things, but one thing is needed.”
The heart of a woman is very vulnerable. It is easily prone to distractions and dreams, relationships, responsibilities, independence and such necessities are capable of training the heart towards independence from the need to abide.
Scripture warns that life apart from God’s conscious presence is not fullness. Only in God’s presence is fullness of joy and at His right hand dwell eternal pleasures (Psalm 16:11), not in life’s plenty of achievement.
Contentment without God’s enjoyment will lead to spiritual numbness. Such contentment is like rubbing salve to a skin infection that requires the use of antibiotics. The salve may soothe the burning sensation for a moment but it can never kill the root of the problem which is only possible by the intake of antibiotics.
Like the church in Ephesus, you may still be doing the right things not knowing you’ve left your first love (Revelation 2:4). And when love fades, obedience becomes mechanical, worship becomes routine, and God becomes an idea rather than a delight.
Dear sis, God did not save you merely to function well. He saved you to abide, to enjoy Him, to live in the consciousness of His nearness.
The ache you no longer feel was once a gift. Ask Him to restore it.
Hunger is not in any way a weakness; it is the evidence that your heart was made for more. If it’s gone, ask Him to restore it as well.
Do not settle for a life that works without God. Return to the place where His presence is not optional.
Go back to that place where you can’t find contentment unless He is near.
Listen to this short sermon on Loving God Supremely: https://youtu.be/1HcS9OZJ5XM?si=0RyPZKTizHEqvn40
Let Us Pray:
Father, we confess that we have learned to live without the conscious enjoyment of Your presence. Forgive us for calling functionality peace and mistaking busyness for fullness. Please, awaken our hearts again. Restore our sensitivity to Your nearness. Rekindle our hunger for intimacy with You.
Where our love has grown quiet, stir it. Where our desire has faded, rekindle it. Teach us to abide, not just believe. We refuse to settle for a life that works without You.
Draw us back to first love, where Your presence is our greatest joy. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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