“For the despondent, every day brings trouble; for the happy heart, life is a continual feast.”
~ Proverbs 15:15 (NLT)

Coaxing a Happy Heart

I love all types of animals. When I was a kid I remember going to downtown Cleveland with my sister. She was 12 years older than me and tons of fun; never a dull moment with Judy around! We ended up passing through a department store that sold pets and supplies. The next thing I knew I was headed home with a brand-new guinea pig. A big surprise for my mom, but she was welcoming (I had a super mom!). After building a home for my new addition, I went to pick her up. Scared, she lashed out. I jerked my hand back just before her razor-sharp teeth landed.

Over time, with a little coaxing, she learned to trust me. It ended up really well for her! You see, my mom worked for a grocery store back then so would bring home scraps from the produce department. Every night I would put a pile of produce in a boxed area on our kitchen floor (remember, I had a super mom!), then plop my guinea pig into the midst of a feast. Before long the feast was embedded in her little mind. Full of anticipation, each night she would begin squeaking from the basement as loud as she could for me to come get her and take her to her feast. You know what? She lived a super long life…I’d say she had a happy heart!

Who could know what really goes on in the mind of a baby guinea pig? I’m sure fear of her new surroundings, made her anxious… who could she trust? But she trusted me, her owner, with her hunger and discovered that her life became a continual feast.

Are you hungry enough to trust God to provide a continual feast?

These days it seems impossible to imagine life as a continual feast. Honestly, have you felt a bit despondent, dejected? Totally understandable… Perhaps you feel a bit like hiding in your shelter ready to bite whoever comes your way. Anger seems to be flooding the world. A continual feast? Where??

My little guinea pig had a choice to make way back then. The feast was available but she had to trust her owner to take her to it. It’s easy to see in retrospect how the path she chose resulted in a feast. Imagine if she had stayed hidden in her shelter, ready to bite? Using her simple mind, she chose to follow her hunger and trust me.

To realize your feast, start with a choice to simply your thinking.

This morning during my daily devotional time, I found myself praying for God to “simplify my thinking” so that all my thoughts that were not from him would go away. Paul talks of this:

“And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.”
The Apostle Paul| Philippians 4:8

It always boils down to a choice, doesn’t it? What path will I take? I read this and I said, “Of course, I want this… this is the path to my feast!” Then I realized that, in the midst of this crazy world, even if I choose the right path, I can’t get there on my own. Just like my guinea pig, I need to be taken to the feast.

Self-Talk is not enough

All of the positive thinking in the world cannot take you to the feast. I know because I have tried. For example, the day I read Proverbs 15:15, I also read:

“How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered!”
King David| Psalm 139:17 (NLT)

Can you imagine? This is one sweet thing to know… God thinks I’m precious! If this scripture is true, then my life definitely should be a continual feast… I wrote on the top of the page, “Why is my life not a continual feast?”

Over and over, I’ve tried and tried to embed the truth of scriptures like this in my soul…yet, the world seems to block it. No matter how many times I say it to myself, it just does not penetrate. This time I prayed for help…

Before he ascended to Heaven, Jesus promised us the Holy Spirit:

But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.
Jesus Christ| John 14:26 (NLT)

Jesus sent the Holy Spirit so I would not be alone, vulnerable. I do not have to remember the scriptures by repeating over and over in my mind, the Holy Spirit is in me to remind me. He speaks Spirit to spirit, in simple terms I can understand. I call this Spirit Talk.

Pray for the Holy Spirit to take you to the feast.

Keep this in mind too… feast is not where we think it should be. We seem to expect the world to change before our eyes because we’ve read a certain scripture. Instead, calling on the Spirit shifts our realms from worldly to spiritual. From here we gain an entirely new vantage point. Things look different from the Kingdom’s standpoint and the scripture rings true. My little guinea pig had no idea what was upstairs in the kitchen until I took her there. Only there did she experience her feast. Let the Spirit take you to the feast.

Want to learn more about Spirit Talk? It is a core aspect to our Reach New Peaks Guided Workshop. It will change your life, guaranteed.

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