Mom Monday: Nourishing

Children. The sure take a lot out of you, don't they? Day in and day out the role of a mother is to give, give, give and when she has nothing left to give, she somehow manages to scrape up a little more to dish out. It amazes me constantly how mothers are like the basket of bread and fish that Jesus used to feed the thousands. In Jesus' hands, a mother can be used to "feed" a multitude. But what about the mother? She needs to receive sometimes too!

That's how I've felt for the last several months, like I had nothing more I could possibly give. I was running on empty and I knew it. But what I didn't know was what to do about it. I was searching everything within my power, but I just couldn't find it. I was looking too hard.

My husband shared an article with me that had the answer and what a simple answer it was, indeed!

The point is this: I saw more clearly than ever that the first great and primary business to which I ought to attend every day was to have my soul happy in the Lord. The first thing I ought to be concerned about was not how much I might serve the Lord, or how I might glorify the Lord; but how I might get my soul into a happy state, and how my inner man might be nourished. For I might seek to set the truth before the unconverted, I might seek to benefit believers, I might seek to relieve the distressed, I might in other ways seek to behave myself as it becomes a child of God in this world; and yet, not being happy in the Lord, and not being nourished and strengthened in my inner man day by day, all this might not be attended to in a right spirit. -George Muller"

He goes on to tell how he used to start everyday in prayer, but he found that his mind would wander or he'd spend a lot of time praying before he felt it had effect. Sound familiar? This was how I felt all the time! All this time, my "inner man" has needed nourishment!

George Muller went on the say that he changed his practice to first begin each day by meditating on the word of God. He read not for ministry, not for prayer, etc but for the sole purpose of profiting his own spirit. But the amazing thing is that God would bless him in this attitude and the meditation would very soon turn into confession, thanksgiving, intercession, supplication or so on.

George Muller simply switched from praying first to nourishing first (which led to prayer) and noticed a huge difference in his spiritual life. In nourishing himself first, he had more to give. His meditation often produced spiritual food not just for himself, but for others too!

Take note: he does make the distinction between "just reading" and the true meditation upon the Word. Don't just read for the sake of reading the words. Rather, read a verse, stop and contemplate it. What is happening. Why? Why are the characters struggling or overcoming? How is this similar to your own life?

Think you're too weak to meditate like this? Think you need to be some Bible scholar? On the contrary! George Muller addressed that too:

We may therefore profitably meditate, with God's blessing, though we are ever so weak spiritually; nay, the weaker we are, the more we need meditation for the strengthening of our inner man.

So give it a try! I'm NOT a morning person and have a very difficult time getting up early. But I've made the effort the last two mornings and have been so incredibly blessed but what God has revealed to me in His Word. It's amazing to me that I can find so much in my life that is similar to the story of Ruth. It has been a wonderful encouragement to me, so I just want to pass along the encouragement to you. Don't let your inner man weaken for lack of nourishment!