2009 Anchor Verse

James 4:8 ~ Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.



When I think about feeding my soul, this verse is top of my mind. As I have stated in past blogs, my prayer this year is that I will develop a craving for time with God that cannot be quenched by anything else. That I will change bad eating habits with good onese. That I will develop a stronger understanding of what it means to feed my soul.



God created us with a need to be fed both physically and spiritually. When we are physically hungry or thirsty…we eat. We know what it feels like to be hungry for food and we respond to it as it occurs, sometimes with great urgency! We also know that if we feed it with good, nutritious food…we grow strong and remain healthy. If we find other things to feed our physical hunger, things that are more satisfying for the moment but lack the nutrition for the long haul…we grow weak and become unwell. This is especially true if we succumb to the temporary pleasures of junk food and snacks on a regular basis and lose our desire for good food and a well balanced diet.



Feeding the soul is very similar. Our soul is hungry all the time, but many times we feed that hunger with junk and snacks instead of a well balanced and consistent diet of God’s word. Some of the junk we feed our soul has no resemblance to spiritual food (just like cheese puffs have no resemblance to real food…they taste great but have no redeeming value!). Some of the unhealthy things we can feed our soul with can be easy to recognize, like drug and alcohol addictions. Others may seem harmless, but in actuality are cheese puffs filling a space that needs a healing touch. Things like shopping to feel better, eating to feel better, even relationships and yes…gossiping, watching television or spending time on the computer. Now I am not saying that shopping, relationships, eating, television and computers are things that should be removed from our lives (you’ll notice I left out gossip from that list!). I am saying, though, that these things can move from being useful to being a replacement for what is truly needed and is the only thing that will lead to a healthy relationship with God.



Most New Year's resolutions consist of a list of these 'junk food' items that we resolve to stop doing. So I believe that instead of resolving to stop doing those thing, what we really need to say is 'I resolve to feed my soul with the word of God so I lose my desire for the habit of feeding it junk food'.



When I feel myself falling into junk food habits, James 4:8 will be my habit changing verse. Stop. Draw near to God. He will draw near to me. And as He does, he will feed my soul with what it truly craves. My prayer is that we will develop a craving for this food that cannot be quenched by anything but time with Him!



So what is your anchor verse for 2009? Leave your verse in the comment section and we will be fed by the word you leave.



God Bless and Keep You,

Tami