From Pastor Ben
Trivia
From yesterday: What vegetable grows fast enough that if we pause to listen we can hear it? Is it Bush beans, Rhubarb, Radishes, or Carrots? If you guessed Rhubarb, you were right! In fact, if you stand in an almost pitch-black room, surrounded by budding rhubarb, don't be alarmed if you hear noise — specifically squeaks, cracks, and pops. When it is grown outdoors for the first growing season then brought into dark sheds, as long as it is watered properly the plants will grow up to one inch a day, and you will literally hear it grow. This they call this dark time "forced growth". Farmers started this process in the early 1800s.
Challenge:
Ecclesiastes 6:7 All the labor of man is for his mouth, and yet the soul is not satisfied."
Here we are instructed in two areas of our life:
First in the area of the physical, the body. We are reminded of the fact that our physical appetite is a positive driving force for working hard. Proverbs 16:26 further illustrates this, where it says, "It is good for workers to have an appetite; an empty stomach drives them on."
For most of us, after Thanksgiving dinner and stuffing ourselves, we always think "I never want to see turkey for the rest of my life!" But by midnight, we find ourselves back snacking on that same turkey. The reminder here is that though this appetite is beneficial to our well being, yet it is unable to bring complete satisfaction. It only provides temporary relief. Several passages in Ecclesiastes affirm this fact. Explore these verses Ecclesiates 5:10–12, 17; 4:7–8; 6:2.
The second area of our lives is the spiritual part of our being, our soul. Here we are reminded that our soul can not be satisfied by solely physical activity. Just doing simply good deeds cannot fully satisfy the needs of our soul. Our soul-ish needs can only be satisfied as we fellowship and commune with our Lord. As we lean into His word, confess those failures, and make right our walk before Him. This requires our continual contact and renewal with our Lord. These activities of reading and admitting our shortcomings and mistakes to Him are important exercises. To the extent that we fail to fellowship with Him, so also our souls become lean and hungry for His influence in our lives. This then leads to the limiting of the Spirit's leadership in our lives. This is not a good place to be!
Because we are physical human agents, we need the consistent infusion of His being into our lives. While here on earth, Jesus set this example for us. He went into the garden to commune with the Father throughout His time here on the earth. It was his pattern of living. In the same way, we need His fellowship in our lives, for we are surrounded by the fleshly appetites of this human world.
SO GO WITH GOD for we daily need Him to refresh our soul and maximize the Spirit's working in our life. If you have time, meditate on the message of the song "Less of Me and More of You" by Austin Stone Worship on You Tube.
ale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Ec 6:7). Tyndale House Publishers.
We grew rhubarb in our backyard in Wenatchee while I was growing up. It grew into a patch. I can attest to how fast it grew! We never lacked for rhubarb streusel (I have the recipe it you want it!) and sweetly stewed rhubarb and rhurbarb pie!!