Earlier this week, I was frustrated and struggling. You may have noticed me heading to such a place in my recent posts. During a moment of quiet time, I specifically asked God to help me see why I was so stuck and why I was falling so fully back into my old routine, my old chains, my old idols. Over the course of 30 minutes, God spoke to me from Psalms and two “prophets” to help me make sense of things.

After my prayer for clarity, I opened my Bible. Randomly. And hit Psalms 132.  In that passage, it says, “Surely I will not go into the chamber of my house, or go up to the comfort of my bed; I will not give sleep to my eyes or slumber to my eyelids until I find a place for the Lord. A dwelling place for the Mighty God…”

Insight #1: I’ve been cramping God’s style.  I haven’t been making room for Him. Providing Him with space to work. That makes sense. I’ve talked before about how important it is to create space. I just haven’t been practicing the preaching.

I continued my pursuit, flipping back to passages in Jeremiah that I had read earlier in the week. In Jeremiah 4:14 it says, “…wash your heart from wickedness, that you may be saved. How long shall your evil thoughts lodge within you?” And then in verse 18, “This is your wickedness, because it is bitter, because it reaches to your heart.”

Insight #2: I need more elbow grease. Evidently, I still have some internal scrubbing to do. Sin digs deep. It sets in over time. You can’t  stop scrubbing when things look clean on the surface. I am in a continual fight to take back my heart, as we all are. Yet another example of the need for patient endurance.

I finished up in Jeremiah, and then another prophet of sorts spoke to me. Jamie Oliver. My wife was in the background watching Food Revolution, tracking Jamie’s efforts to improve the health of Los Angeles by, as the title of the show suggests, revolutionizing their food. I was about to close my Bible when I heard Jamie shout out in his snippy yet endearing British accent, “You have to ask the question: Where does my food come from?” He was referring to the quality of the meat being used to make hamburgers. God used that simple phrase to give me one last truth to chew on.

Insight #3: I need to check my food supply. In addition to not making space for God, and failing to continually clean, I am also malnourished.   I have been filling myself with junk food. Feeding on the same old lies. Curbing my hunger with things that temporarily satisfy but have no long-term value. It’s like eating bacon for breakfast, lunch and dinner (I could so do that by the way) and expecting to feel healthy and full of energy.

Ask and ye shall receive. God responded to me with a clear explanation of why I have been experiencing less than what He has for me. I’m not creating space. I’m not cleansing my heart. And in fact, I’m filling the space with additional junk, nourishing myself with things that will just further clog my spiritual arteries and further damage my heart.

I love that I’m in a place right now where I can troubleshoot with God. It’s so different from how I would have approached the situation in the past. Thanks to Jeremiah and Jamie for the words of wisdom.  Now, if you will excuse me, I’m going to try and find something healthier than bacon for lunch.