HOT HOT HOT

I was listening to Dr. David Jeremiah and Chip Ingram today and they were both talking about how God speaks to us.  One thing that was said was that if you want to hear a word from God you have to be where God speaks.  Now of course we know that God can speak to us anywhere, at any time, for any reason, thru any means.  But what he meant was it is difficult to hear a word from God if we’re not in a place where God’s word is heard. 

For example if we are in the habit of reading God’s word each day, going to church regularly, being around Christian influences, prayer, radio, friends, etc., we are more likely to hear a word from God than if we’re not. Right?  When we are out of fellowship with Him; when we aren’t reading the Bible, we’re not spending time in prayer; we lose touch with those friends who encourage us and keep us accountable, we are more likely to seek answers from people or things that are not of God. 

Now, again, let me say, that God can use any means necessary to speak to us.  I cannot limit God.  However, I don’t want God to have to yell to get my attention.  There are things that God can say so plainly and quietly when we are in His presence and in fellowship with him. 

It made me think about Krispy Kreme doughnuts.  I have a friend who is pregnant.  For any of you who have ever been pregnant, you know that there are these overwhelming urges to eat things that you may never eat otherwise.  My friend has had the urge to eat Krispy Kreme doughnuts.  She liked them before but now it’s an obsession.  She calls the store to see when they are going to be HOT and then goes to get one (or two). 

Now she could just go to the grocery store and pick up a box of Krispy Kremes. Or, she could just get a box of those little powdered doughnuts or the glazed ones at the bakery.  A doughnut’s a doughnut right?  WRONG!  Not if you’ve had a HOT Krsipy Kreme.  Not if you’re in the state of mind that nothing will fill that hunger and taste like a HOT Krispy Kreme. 

I think that sometimes as Christians, we don’t want to wait for the right (HOT) answer from God.  We’ll just go to Oprah, or a magazine, or Dr. Laura, or whatever and take the answer that we most like that will “fix” the situation temporarily.  The problem is, it doesn’t fix it.  We still have a hunger and an overwhelming need for the real thing, like a HOT Krispy Kreme.  If my friend went ahead and even bought a box of Krispy Kremes at the grocery store, she would still deep down, wish she had a HOT one right out of the oven dripping with that icing.  A powdered doughnut wouldn’t even come close to satisfying that urge. 

Let’s quit taking the substitute answers.  Let’s stay plugged in to God’s word to get our hunger met.  God’s word is HOT.  Accept no imitations.