Food for the Soul

Even more important than food for our bodies is food for our souls, and I feel well-fed today. The time of singing this morning seemed to be--what can I say?--inspired, heartfelt, true worship. To me it seemed like a genuine connection with God was made, and I rejoiced in the fact of being in His presence and lifting my voice with others to adore our great God.

I also gleaned a great verse from the lesson that Sam shared with us. It's a verse that I haven't read for a while, but it comes from one of my favorite Old Testament books--Deuteronomy. In the NLT version, Deut. 30:6 says, "The Lord your God will change your heart and the hearts of all your descendants, so that you will love him with all your heart and soul and so you may live!" This is the cry of my heart, my deepest desire in all my life. What God-fearing parent doesn't want their children to walk in the ways of the Lord? We all do! We long for it with pain and groans and tears and joy and hope as we see evidence of our children's decisions to either follow God or turn away from Him. This promise from Deut. 30 is so comforting; the thought of leaving a legacy of all my descendants having changed hearts because of their relationship with God is the pinnacle of all that I hold dear. Of course, this promise comes with conditions that come before and after this particular verse--to return to the Lord...to obey with all your heart and all your soul...to keep all His commands, etc.--and it's vitally important to pay attention to that. But it was a comforting verse for me today as it reminded me of God's role in this process of transformation. I've heard it so many times before, but it's still as true as ever--God loves my children even more than I do; He desires to have a relationship with them more intensely than I can imagine; He does more to draw their hearts to Him than I could ever do in a thousand lifetimes; and despite the good that I do (the family devotionals, the prayers with and for my children) and the bad that I do (the times I blatantly sin, the times I neglect the practice of instilling spiritual disciplines in my children), He is still at work to make this promise from Deut. 30:6 come true. For that, I am eternally grateful and deeply comforted.