Why a blog?  This is a question I’ve asked myself, and many other aspiring writers also ask.  Aren’t there enough out there already?  For as long as I can remember, writing has always been my “go-to” activity.  Whether life is great or is in chaos, writing has always been the way I cope with emotions, questions, and the events of life.  Eight months ago I had the idea of starting a blog.  It first sprouted from an encounter with an author/blogger who encouraged me to consider it.  The thought again came to my mind this past month when a school paper and personal post were both asked to be reused by others to share in a church and in a speech.

And, low and behold, eight months after I started thinking about this, here I am writing my first post.  I don’t claim to be anyone special with my writing, but hopefully you can relate with what I write, or at least be encouraged by what God prompts me to say.

In each post I hope to share Scripture that God has been challenging me with and a thought from my life.  People often talk about having “Food for Thought,” something that will make you think and maybe change the way you view a certain idea.  I’d like to think of my posts as “Soul Food.”  They might not be new things I’m learning, but reminders that God is showing me that I need to work on and maybe you can be challenged by as well.

Most if not all of what I write will end up being revolved around my relationship with God.  So as I conclude this post, I’d like to leave you with my first “Soul Food.”

WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH GOD?

Christianity is often viewed as simply a checklist of “dos” and “don’ts.”  Don’t do this; stay away from that; make sure you do this.  But the Christian life that God desires of us is so much more.  God cares more about our motives than He does about our actions.  He doesn’t just want our obedience, He wants our heart.
When Samuel was told by God to seek out a new King for Israel in 1 Samuel 16, Samuel, a very wise and religious man, was confronted with an astonishing truth about God.  Samuel was looking at the eight sons of Jesse and thought for sure that God wanted to pick the tallest, broadest, oldest brother to be king.  But God had other plans.  “But the LORD said to Samuel, ‘Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart'” (1 Samuel 16:7).

It’s easy to think that to have a heart for God we have to just try harder and do more to please God.  But the reality is that we can’t do it.  This is what David said:

“You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one.
    You do not want a burnt offering.
 The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit.
    You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.” -Psalm 51:16-17

How’s your heart today?  Is your heart pursuing God  If not, why isn’t it?  God called David a “Man after My own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14).  Would God say that of you and me?

The answer is not to do more or try harder, it is to humble ourselves before God.  When we can realize that we are broken people undeserving of God’s grace and repent of our waywardness, then God can use us.

“Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.”   ~ Robert Robinson’s “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing”