Spiritual Metabolism

Psalm 119:69-70
“The insolent smear me with lies,
but with my whole heart I keep your precepts;
their heart is unfeeling like fat,
but I delight in your law.”

I love the contrast in these verses the where the heart is used symbolically. David’s “whole heart” keeps and delights in God’s Word, while the insolent (rude and arrogant, lacking respect) heart is “unfeeling like fat.” What a great word picture. Of the heart Proverbs 4:23 says, “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.” The heart is considered the seat of our emotions but it is also a muscle. Muscles are full of sensory nerves that feel pain and pleasure. Fat, on the other hand, is static and not affected by the nervous system in the same way muscles are. Fat can’t “feel” anything. I can flex a muscle but I can’t flex my fat.

How can we relate this to ourselves spiritually? 

Spiritual Metabolism

Metabolism is the process by which our bodies take in food and use the nutrition, converting it to fuel that energizes everything the body does. To keep our bodily metabolism functioning well we must have food, water, and exercise. We need nutritional input and energy output. Spiritual Metabolism is how our souls take in the Word of God and prayer that fuels our worship of God and service to others. When Jesus was tempted to sin in Matt 4:4 he quoted Deut 8:3 to Satan, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” How can our spiritual metabolism help us assimilate Gospel truth and prevent our hearts from becoming “unfeeling like fat?”

Spiritual Junk Food vs. Spiritual Health Food

“You are what you eat,”… spiritually. Quality matters and we all know the difference.

Junk food = pre packaged, trans- fat, sugar and sodium filled, super size fast food, sodas and sweets. It has the appearance of food but lacks real nutritional substance. Just enough to keep the body working, but over time performance and health suffers.

The junk that should just be the occasional treat ends up consuming much of our day. T.V., social media, video games, entertainment. We are consumers. But all these things are spiritually empty calories. We often let our appetites instead of the Holy Spirit guide us. Paul describes “the insolent” perfectly in Philippians 3:18-19, “For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.”

Health food = lean meats, fruits & vegetables, complex carbs, healthy fats, an “occasional treat,” reasonable portion sizes. Likewise, over time health and performance increase.

In Psalm 23 David says the Shepherd makes him “lie down in green pastures,” and leads him “beside still waters.” The word of God and prayer are like food and water that restores our souls. We need to take them into our spirits like our bodies take in food, on a regular daily basis, multiple times a day. When we don’t feed ourselves the Word and pray we become soul starved and don’t even realize it. A great place to start is in Psalms. Read a Psalm a day and journal what God speaks to you in those times. There are so many great resources and bible reading plans out there. Don’t wait to “start on Monday” like we often do with “diets.” Just read a bit today. And then tomorrow. And then the day after that. If you miss a day it’s ok. Just read again the next day.

Spiritual Activity vs. Spiritual Lethargy

Activity builds muscle mass and endurance. We walk our dogs, we go to the gym, our kids have recess and p.e. classes, and play sports. In order to build a muscle you must train it, over and over again, to do the work you require of it. We can train our minds in scripture and prayer, and train our eyes to see with faith rather than fear. Just as cardio changes our heart rate, God’s word changes our spiritual heart.

As we spend daily time in the word, prayer, worship and serving others, we show what a committed disciple of Christ looks like. If we go to church once a week for 20 years but don’t “eat” the world every day or serve anyone but ourselves, what little spiritual muscle we have will be swallowed up by spare tires of unbelief and muffin tops of apathy.

Training in Righteousness

2 Timothy 3:16 tells us, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

My goal here is not to guilt or shame. My hope is that you see the value of a healthy, spiritually active life. We really don’t want our hearts to be “unfeeling like fat.” Making changes is hard, but if you make small changes daily they will add up over time. Spiritually, this means daily time in God’s word and prayer as well as a regular worship and exercise of kindness, generosity, and self control.

1 Corinthians 9:25-27 says, “Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.”

Our works don’t earn grace, but God’s grace in our lives gives us a desire to live like David, with whole hearts that delight in God’s Word, and not as insolent people with unfeeling hearts.

Start Today

Don’t “wait till Monday” to start eating spiritual food (Scripture & Prayer) and doing spiritual activity (Worship & Service.) The Holy Spirit is whispering to you today. He is your helper. He is your trainer. Like your bodily metabolism converts food into energy, the Holy Spirit takes the Gospel into your heart and converts it into the good works God has already prepared for you. Zech 4:6 says,  “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit says the LORD of hosts.”

I’d love to know what your current daily Bible reading plan is, or hear about a time when “eating” the Word has fueled your spiritual walk. Please share in the comments below, you never know who it might encourage.