Our family (like yours, I am sure) has certain foods that we make only on holidays. For example, at Christmas, with the roasted lamb there’s always cranberry-orange relish, “Christmas Crunch” salad, and Vánočka (a sweet plaited holiday bread)—not to mention the essential ginger cookies dipped in white chocolate. It’s not that these are especially hard-to-make or hard-to-get foods—it’s just that they are once-a-year fare. Every family has their own. My friend, Jean, and her family dearly love their own special Christmas food tradition—chicken livers. What’s yours?
Holiday food is not, however, everyday food. It’s special, and it’s incredibly good, but you can’t live on holiday food alone. You CAN, of course, but what I mean is that you can’t live all year only on what you consume on Christmas Day or Easter.
It’s all about our continuous need for energy. Food provides calories, and calories are a measurement of energy. Generally, the human body needs food for energy every day to sustain its basic life functions—like blood circulation, digestion, and cell replacement. To maintain physical health and wellness, ideally a person would need to consume roughly the same amount of fuel, or calories of energy, that their body burns each day. If a person consumes more than they burn, they run the risk of unnecessary weight gain. But if over time they don’t consume enough food to provide the energy their physical body needs—every day—they begin to die.
As believers in Jesus, we learn early on about the need for spiritual disciplines—every day. Yes, our salvation from sin may have begun in an instant—the moment we chose to repent, to be baptized in His name, and to receive the gift of His Spirit. We often celebrate THAT DAY as our spiritual birthday—the first day of everlasting LIFE in Jesus Christ.
But, of course, that initial infusion of the Holy Spirit was only the beginning. From that day forward, as with any newborn, we require sustenance DAILY—AND we also need to continually utilize the energy it provides.
Everyday food. Like everyday air, it’s what we require—physically and spiritually. And just as there are various nutrients that support different functions of our human bodies, so it is spiritually. We need some of ALL of it every single day.
For example:
- Everyday GRACE. “By grace are you saved … it is the gift of God.” (Ephesians 2:8 KJV) God has flooded our souls with His amazing grace because our own everyday sins require it. His grace is abundantly sufficient for every test we face—it is ENOUGH. But we cannot just consume it for ourselves alone. God’s grace is given freely to us to freely give away. It’s not for us to hoard—but to GIVE. To supply to others who also need to see the grace of God. Every day.
- Everyday MERCY. “It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because (they) fail not. They are new EVERY morning …” (Lamentations 3:22-23 KJV) Every day, our sins require the mercy of God to cover them. You may ask, “Wasn’t the power of the blood of Jesus enough to cover all my sins on the day I was saved?” Yes, past, present, and future! “The mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting …” (Psalm 103:17 KJV) But, we are still required to actively place our sins EVERY day under that saving blood to obtain His mercy. PLUS! we must also extend that same mercy we are given through forgiveness to others. Mercy in—mercy out. Continually. Like breathing.
- Everyday FAITH. “The just shall live by faith.” (Romans 10:17 KJV) Faith is ESSENTIAL to sustain life—like spiritual oxygen—and it must always be PRESENT and EVIDENT. The evidence it provides not only sustains our own spiritual vitality, but it is a burning flame that ignites faith in the hearts of others.
- Everyday TRUST. “Trust in the LORD with ALL thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In ALL thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-7 KJV) Consistent trust in the LORD does two things: (1) it makes us ready to receive the direction we need, and (2) it makes US trustworthy. Others may learn how to trust the Lord for themselves as they observe how we walk in complete trust with Him. Every day.
- Everyday PRAYER. “Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17-18 KJV) What is God’s desire? According to author Eric Ballard, “He wants us to live in a way that allows us to be ready to pray at any moment. Prayer is never reserved for a certain time and place. It’s a discipline we can (and should) practice 24/7.”
- Everyday WORSHIP. God instructed Moses: “Thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon … every morning … and … at even, a perpetual incense before the LORD throughout your generations.” (Exodus 30:1-8 KJV) EVERY day, our worship should rise to the LORD like a sweet-smelling perfume. He provides the resource—the incense of His blessings—and it’s not for us to hoard, but to BURN. To offer up in the flame of our gratitude EVERY time His name is mentioned. “Sing praise to the Lord, you saints of His, and give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.” (Psalm 30:4 NKJV)
- Everyday BREAD. The Word of the LORD is a daily essential—we need a bite of it every day. If reading the Christmas story in Luke 2 is the only Bible reading one does all year, it’s not enough—any more than eating just one meal a year. It doesn’t really matter how much, or where, or when, as long as the WORD is consumed regularly and intentionally. For as Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every WORD that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4 KJV)
Usually, it isn’t difficult to be consistent with our eating habits. It’s a matter of HUNGER. When we’re hungry, we will eat. It’s said that our body knows what it needs, and—aside from harmful food addictions—we tend to hunger MOST for what we NEED the most.
However, spiritual hunger doesn’t come naturally. It is an acquired taste. Once we develop an EVERYDAY HUNGER for God and His pure Word—and we consistently feed it—nothing else will satisfy. “Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever.” (Psalms 145:2 KJV)
What would it hurt to challenge yourself in the new year to exercise all the essentials every day?
(Part 1 of 2)
