Nourished or Malnourished?

I've been trying to lose a few pounds over the past few weeks… Man! It sure is a lot more fun putting the weight on than taking it off! I’m getting used to going to bed with my stomach growling. At first, I felt like I was going to ‘die’ from being undernourished (yeah right!). I’d step on the scales every day, only to be disappointed with NO WEIGHT LOSS. All I could see that I was accomplishing was torturing myself. Of course, the only way to drop the pounds is to cut the number of calories you eat to less than what you burn during a day. After you drop the weight it's important to rebalance your diet though, otherwise your health will suffer.
A man named Joe Griffith once wrote: “If a tree is given minimal nourishment, it will live, but it will not grow. If nourishment is given over and beyond what is needed for life, the tree will live and grow upward, downward and outward. But if a tree is given nourishment over and beyond what is needed to support life, needed for growth, and more, it will produce fruit. Fruit is the overflow, a surplus of excess nourishment."
That’s truth for us humans too – both in a physical as well as in a spiritual sense. Just like you have to feed your stomach to stay healthy physically, you have to feed your soul to stay spiritually healthy. What feeds your soul? I’m talking about where you get your spiritual nourishment. Do you think you are properly fed simply by attending a worship service? Do you feel spiritually nourished only when you meet in your small group or adult Bible class? Is your soul fed only when you are giving and ministering to others? A healthy Christian is one that has a well-rounded spiritual diet. I believe it was Rick Warren who said that church growth is the result of proper nourishment. If people are being spiritually nourished the church will be healthy and experience growth. Sometimes, however, we get the wrong idea about what spiritual nourishment is all about. It has nothing to do with putting on a slick presentation or being entertaining. It’s not about a particular worship style or a denomination either – none of those things can feed the soul. Spiritual nourishment is more about genuine relationships – both with God and with one another. It’s about worship that is truthful and spiritual, and sound Biblical teaching that challenges us to grow in our faith walk with the Lord. If the only time you experience worship or fellowship is when you attend a congregational worship service, you may be spiritually starving or at a minimum spiritually malnourished. And the problem is most likely not the fault of the church. A believer who is spending time with God daily, studying the Word, serving others thru ministry, praying and experiencing private worship, will be healthier and grow by leaps and bounds over the believer who just attends church on Sunday. And when the church has a group of believers who are personally connected to the Lord on a daily basis, there’s no way you can keep it from growing and becoming stronger in the Lord. When a dynamic group of believers are experiencing the abundant Christian life in the church, the excitement will spread spiritual health all thru the congregation. I encourage you to pursue the spiritual food your soul needs in order to be spiritually nourished. Get involved in ministry; get involved in personal prayer and Bible study; get into a small group; attend corporate worship; connect with other believers in every possible way. Then you’ll have access to a balanced diet of the right kinds of spiritual food for your soul. Remember the tree. The more nourishment it gets the more productive it becomes. That principle is also true in our daily lives as well as in our family of faith.

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