Spiritual Leanness

"They [Israelites]soon forgot his works; they waited not for his counsel: But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tempted God in the desert. And he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul." Psalm 106:13-15

If God gave us everything we wanted when we wanted it, I do not believe that we would be truly happy. What we think is best for us is not always what God thinks is best for us because He sees the entire picture when we don't. However, I do believe that God sometimes gives in to our foolish requests, even though it might not be His best for us, because of our stubbornness to have it our way. The Israelites experienced this when they were in the wilderness, murmuring about how hard they had it. God had just done an amazing work by parting the Red Sea and allowing them to cross over when they began to complain about the manna that God provided for them. They wanted meat to eat. Psalm 106:14 says that the Israelites began to lust exceedingly and tempt God. You know what God did? He decided to give them what they wanted. Verse 15 says this, " And he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul." What does this mean? God sent them flesh to eat. He gave them what they wanted. As a matter of fact, He gave them so much quail that it literally came out of their nostrils (Numbers 11:20). Gross, right? The verse goes on to say, however, that with their request, he sent "leanness to their soul." What is leanness? Leanness means thinness. In some commentaries, leanness equates to starvation. So, what this means is that although God honored their request and gave them what they wanted, He left their souls starving. They were fed with their immediate physical need, but they missed out on seeing God truly provide for them which left their souls spiritually wanting.

Here's what I'm trying to say. We chase after experiences, hobbies, money, careers, jobs, education and entertainment in hopes of satisfying that nagging sense of longing we feel on a day-to-day basis. Some even chase after relationships in attempt to satisfy that longing and emptiness, but even after that new relationship has begun, the soul is still starving for something more. Our stubborn desire for immediate gratification and God allowing it leaves us spiritually bankrupt, or spiritually "lean" because although we are getting our physical desire answered, our soul is still starving for Him. The human soul longs to be satisfied by God and God alone. Our flesh may deceive us into thinking that other things can satisfy us, but we quickly see that once those wants are met, we still feel the same, or worse.

What is the remedy? Trust that God's manna is better for you than anything else this world can offer. Eat from His table daily. Eat of Him daily (John 6:51). I leave you with our bishop's words to us a couple of weeks ago. He simply put it this way, "God is most glorified when we are satisfied in Him." Allow God to satisfy you and feed you with the fatness of his presence. Then, and only then, will your soul be content.

"...I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness..." Psalm 63:4-5

"I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." John 6:51

I am passionate about your spiritual empowerment,

April