Soul Food!

"Soul Food I"

5' X 7' on Canvas board

Available - contact artist

"Soul Food II"
5" x 7" oil on stretched canvas
Available - contact artist

I apologize for being gone for so long – I have greatly missed you!  As with most things, when you’ve been away for awhile, it can be a little challenging to get back into the swing of it (like exercise – ugh – still haven’t managed that one yet!)  SOOO, I reached for a simple object to paint – one that was handy, so I didn’t have to think too hard or go too far.  And, you know, since they say it IS helpful to be passionate about your subject matter – I chose FOOD to satisfy the void in my still life set-up!  And just as I had completed my second fruit painting, I received a message from my son about – you got it – FOOD! 

So, today I am pleased to present my guest blogger – John Murray!   (I have edited it down to a “blog-sized” article.)  Hope you enjoy!

“I never fully understood the whole combination of God, hunger, and thirst.  I know the Bible says that God can quench our thirst in the sense that when we are at our worst and desperately cry out for Him, He will come to our rescue.  While that is completely true, I’m not so sure that it’s exactly what is meant when talked about in Bible.  When we physically starve ourselves for a day at a time, or however long it takes someone to become “starving”, we reach the point where we will take just about anything we can get our hands on in order to satiate our hunger.  It doesn’t matter whether the food is good for us or not.  We simply don’t care, as long as it fills our stomach. 

Our souls tend to react in the same way when we don’t feed it every day.  What I mean by “feed our souls” is to spend time with God in prayer, meditate, read the Word, etc.  When we “starve” our souls of this time with God, they react just like our bodies.  We don’t care what we use to fill the void, good or bad, as long as it is filled.  The trouble is, there are plenty of idols out there just chomping at the bit for our invitation to sit on the throne of our hearts.

If we start our day with an empty stomach, we may be able to fight off the temptation to indulge in unhealthy foods early in the day, waiting for something healthy to come along.  However, as the day goes on, just about anything sounds good, especially the tasty, easy to grab, unhealthy foods.  It’s the same with our souls.  As our day progresses, we begin to wear down and become aware of that void, because we haven’t started our day with Him.    Then we are tempted to give in to the easiest, or perhaps even the loudest, voice. Those idols say they will satisfy us and curb our appetites, and they will, but only momentarily, making us want more and more, until we are completely consumed by them, yet never fully satisfied.  

That’s because we can only be fully satiated with God sitting at the throne of our hearts.  Just as taking care of our bodies is a life-long challenge, so it is with our spiritual life.  Regardless of our (in)consistent efforts, temptation will always be at bay.  But, He can extinguish all the desires that idols have to offer, because He is sufficient."

"I am the bread of life.  He who comes to me will never go hungry, 

and he who believes in me will never be thirsty."  John 6:35

Well hey – at least I chose fruit instead of a bag of chips!!!  And thank you, John, for your sharing your valuable insights that truly apply to every single one of us!