"No Matter Your Condition"

"Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them." (Psalms 107:5)

 It might be short, but it packs a powerful punch! I know this feeling; it is when your breath just does not seem enough to carry your spirit, as if there is something lacking in the air to make it to feel satisfied. There is a spiritual hunger and thirst that must be satisfied, not only the physical body. It is the part of us that longs for fellowship the God and other believers; that something that makes us feel as though we are not alone and that everything is going to be just fine. This verse piggybacks the last one, speaking on the "solitary way," which makes one feel destitute on the road they are headed. This is why I believe the fellowship with other believers is so important; not just sitting in church or hanging out in a congregation, but real intimate fellowship, where we are sharing our fears and our trials with one another. We are all in this together, and we all pretty much share the same struggles against sin; some a little more drastic, but sin is sin, no matter how you slice it up. This word "fainted" is actually not what you think, because it speaks mostly about covering up, or to cover over; to be wrapped in darkness. For those of us that are born again, there is a Light within us, the Holy Spirit. If we fail to remain in fellowship, to read God's word, and to speak regularly to the Father, there is something that happens to the Spirit within us, He gets covered over. He is still there, waiting for us to let His Light shine through us, but He is quietly waiting for something to change in us. We are the ones that must act; we are the hinderance that keeps holding Him back! At this point in our walk, we seriously need God to rescue us from our own complacency. This is where we feel independent and think we have it all figured out. We forget how much we need to be rescued, even in our born again state, we still need rescued, more than ever! The greatest hindrance to the Holy Spirit shinning within us is our willingness to sin; to sin willingly, even though you know He is there, even though you know He is saying don't, even though you know that it offends Him. You need to be rescued, for sure...

""The blacksmith stands at his forge to make a sharp tool, pounding and shaping it with all his might. His work makes him hungry and weak. It makes him thirsty and faint. Then the wood-carver measures a block of wood and draws a pattern on it. He works with chisel and plane and carves in into a human figure. He gives it human beauty and puts it in a little shrine. He cuts down cedars; he selects the cypress and the oak; he plants the pine in the forest to be nourished by the rain. Then he uses part of the wood to make a fire. With it he warms himself and bakes his bread. Then -yes, it's true -he takes the rest of it and makes himself a god to worship! He makes an idol and bows down in front of it! He burns part of the tree to roast his meat and to keep himself warm. He says, "Ah, that fire feels good." Then he takes what's left and makes his god: a carved idol! He falls down in front of it, worshiping and praying to it. "Rescue me!" he says. "You are my god!"" (Isaiah 44:12-17) NLT