Every now and then I buy a bag of real potato chips. Since it’s an occasional treat I find that it’s easy for me to overindulge. The other morning before breakfast I thought, Mmm there are potato chips in the pantry! I’ll just eat a few to begin the day. I ate way too many felt full; so much so that when I made my standard healthy oatmeal I didn’t even want it. I had to force myself to eat it because I knew it was healthy, but since I had already filled up on junk food there wasn’t as much room in my stomach for the healthy food.

If we’re not disciplined it’s easy to do the same thing when it comes to spiritual matters, isn’t it? When I get up in the morning the first thing I want to do is turn on the news. I love current events and like to keep up to date. I’ll just watch the headlines, I think to myself, then I’ll turn off the TV and read the Bible and pray. If I’m not careful, some days “the headlines” turns into several hours of mindless TV, then I have to run off to my commitments, then I get home late and need to make dinner and if I get around to it I’ll read a chapter in the Bible before I go to bed, thinking, tomorrow I’ll spend more time with God. Uh…not if I turn the TV on first thing…

Giving God Our Left Overs
There are lots of days that I spend lots of time with God and choose Him first before anything else; worshiping, praying, listening, reading, seeking Him. Time with God isn’t just a box to check off my ‘to do’ list. He refreshes and renews me; encourages me and gives me insight….LIFE….when I am in that focused time with Him. I need it to thrive. And it’s a choice. But there are also days when I make the decision to put other things first; things that aren’t nearly as important; things that can wait. I fill up on the “junk food” and if God’s “lucky” I give Him my little bit of left over time late in the day.

When I start my day with God, I find that I feel more at peace and full of joy throughout the day. Tasks are easier to complete with a good outlook. When I start my day with junk and give God the left overs, my outlook and attitude are often junk, too.

What Do You Meditate On?
What are we listening to, thinking about, talking about, watching, reading, and spending our time doing? Are they things that honor God and help us toward honoring others?

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” Philippians 4:8

It matters what we are putting into our minds because it goes into us and ends up in our hearts. And then that comes back out of our mouths, for better or worse.

“What you say flows from what is in your heart.” Luke 6:45 NLT

 

So…
When we fill up on everything else but God why do we expect to be full of God? Do we assume the fruit of the Spirit will easily flow out of us when we are filling up on life-taking things rather than the Life-Giver? This week join me being intentional about filling up with God, not with junk. I think we’ll be surprised how much better we feel and how much more the intake of godly things produces a greater outflow of the Spirit through us!