Morning By Morning #279

So he got up and ate and drank.

Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights.

1 Kings 19:8

From the pen of Charles Spurgeon:

All the strength our gracious God supplies for us is meant to be used for service, not wanton behavior or boasting. When the prophet Elijah, as he lay under the broom tree, found “by his head” the “cake of bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water” (1 Kings 19:6), he was no gentleman to be gratified with fancy fare so he might simply stretch out in ease. Much to the contrary, he was being commissioned to travel “forty days and forty nights” by its strength “until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God” (1 Kings 19:8).

In the same light, consider what happened when the Master invited the disciples to “Come and have breakfast” (John 21:12) with Him after His resurrection. When the meal was concluded, Jesus said to Peter, “Feed my sheep,” and then added, “Follow me” (John 21:17, 19). It is meant to be the same with us. We eat “the bread of heaven” (Ps. 105:40) so the strength we gain from it may be spent in the Master’s service. We are told to come to Passover to eat of the Paschal Lamb [Editor’s note: from paschalis, Latin for Passover] “with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand” (Ex. 12:11) so we may leave at once after our hunger has been satisfied.

Some Christians are all for living on Christ but are not nearly as eager to live for Christ. Earth is simply preparation for heaven, and heaven will be where the saints will feast the most but will also serve the most. We will sit at the table of our Lord and will serve Him day and night in His temple, eating heavenly food and rendering perfect service.

Believer, in the strength you gain each day from Christ, work for Him. Some of us still have much to learn about the Lord’s purpose in giving us His grace. We are not to simply hold onto the precious grains of God’s truth as Egyptian mummies held onto grains of wheat for ages to come without ever giving it an opportunity to grow. No, we must sow the seed and water it.

Why do you think the Lord sends down rain upon the thirsty earth and then provides warm sunshine? Isn’t it to help the fruits of the earth to yield their food for mankind? In the same way, the Lord feeds and refreshes our soul so we may then use our renewed strength to promote His glory.

From the pen of Jim Reimann:

Eating is one of the favorite pastimes of Christians, and many church meetings of believers take place around a table of food. But just as continual eating without proper exercise will make us physically overweight, continually taking in spiritually without ever serving others will make us spiritually fat. And what we eat is important as well, which is why the writer of Hebrews was so frustrated with his audience. He expressed his displeasure with the fact that they were still living on “milk, not solid food!” (Heb. 5:12).

He then continues, “Solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity” (Heb. 5:14 – 6:1).

If we truly desire to live for God’s glory, we must “go on to maturity”! “Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature” (James 1:4).