Presence Devotion #17

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Aisha Fatur

Scripture

1 Peter 2:2-5  (NIV)

Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.  Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3 now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.

As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him—  you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Insight

One of life’s great pleasures is seeing a newborn search desperately for their mother when they’re hungry.  That sacred signal of mouth wildly swinging, and that moment when attachment comes, and you see great peace come over that beautiful life.  I was so blessed by the gift and delight of breastfeeding my children.  It is built into a mother to satisfy their baby, and it is built into a baby to seek satisfaction and attach itself vehemently to the source of nourishment.  What a beautiful metaphor, for our relationship with God.

This connection is the key to growth.  I love that phrase ‘grow up in your salvation’ suggesting that there are always layers of wisdom and progress yet to be added to your life.  You know God, you know He is good but you need to continually seek nourishment from the source in order to fully grow.   It’s an active process; we are meant to leave certain things behind and turn our hearts purposefully toward those things that nourish and grow us.  When you put time with God into your daily routine, you will be feeding that part of you, most desperate for nourishment.   Much like a baby gets a ‘taste’ for milk, so you too can grow in your taste for the Word.

Have you ever had a time in your life when you desired something that was bad for you?  I often find in the month following Christmas that my desires for sweets are almost overwhelming, and I actually have to wean myself off sugar completely in order to return to my regular eating patterns.   This same concept can apply for those things we ‘feed’ our spirit with.  We can all of us ‘soothe’ ourselves with things that encourage sin, habits that lead us into spiritual deficit until we become starved.  I often find that believing I am usually a healthy person, and that this diet is not normal for me, is the first step in regulating my desires for junk.  So much of our decision making comes from what we believe we’re capable of.

After giving this instruction, Peter desires to reinforce the identity of those who follow Christ.  We are a holy priesthood.   Once nourished, we can walk uprightly, knowing that we can be effective in the building of God’s house, resting on the precious cornerstone of Jesus’s atonement for our sins.  How many of us really see ourselves as one of God’s chosen people?  When you spend time in God’s promises you ‘grow’ in your faith in who God is for you, but also who you are for God.  Walk today with the hope that God intends to use you for His glory.

Prayer

Father, thank-you for the nourishment available in your word.  Let your spirit quicken the scriptures hidden in my heart when I need them.  Thank-you that your love has made me, once a sinner, now your holy priest.  Help me walk in this identity, let it become real to me.  Help my spirit come alive to your will, and overcome the temptations that would keep me from making you a priority in my life.

Amen

Reflective Questions

Read 1 Peter 1 and 2

1. In your life can you see any counterfeit sources where you’re seeking nourishment?
2. How did you spend your time yesterday?  Write down an estimate of time you spent on each activity.
3. What would the priorities of a holy priest look like?
4. What are some of those things you can take out of your life to make room for God?