Why do we throw left-overs away when we need it the most?
One of my mom's favorite quick meals to cook throughout the week is spaghetti (I feel some haters already in the mix, so let me make it clear - it is not your regular-schmegular spaghetti. Her spaghetti is fire lol). Especially if it is a busy week, spaghetti is a quick and long-lasting meal for the family. Sometimes she will call me to ground and season the meat and boil the pasta, just so it is prepared for her to mix it all together and throw it in the oven. All of that took time, preparation, and care. Just like our spaghetti, our leaders go before the ministry every Sunday to give us a word. That word took time, precision, care, and connection to God, so we can receive a heavenly word from up high.
The spaghetti has substance that is meant to fulfill our hunger needs to ensure we are satisfied and no longer need more food to consume. The word does the same thing. We go to church Sunday mornings, we receive a great word from our Pastor or speaker for that day, and we are filled until we cannot be filled anymore...our cup is overflowing. And if you are a part of Bedside Baptist, think about the last time you went to counseling, received helpful advice from a friend or a mentor, or listened to a great podcast that spoke to you. Every encounter you get to receive a divine word, it's purpose is to fulfill you and sustain you until the next time.
Key words are: until the next time. We always forget those key words "until next time". After my mom feeds us, we clean up, and we do not think about what we are going to eat the next couple of nights because we have leftovers. When we leave Sunday morning services or our special encounters with the wise, we should walk away full and knowing we will be alright "until next time".
However, some people forget the meal they were fed, then walk through life feening for substances that cannot fulfill them longer than two seconds.
The words we hear, the experiences we share, and our encounter with God and his divine words are not meant to last two hours. They are meant to last "until the next time". But as humans, we know the enemy and our haters are waiting for us outside the door, and we have to make the choice to defeat them or let them in. If we let them in, we have forfeited our leftovers that were designed to sustain us "until next time". If we let the haters get to our head, we have decided that our feelings are more important than the holy spirit that keeps us. If we let the doubters convince us that we will never make it, we will throw away God's plans for us that was already promised in Jeremiah 29:11. Therefore, we must defeat the haters, the doubters, the envy, and the enemy with our leftovers, with our full armor, and with our spiritual and natural support systems, so we can overcome the adversities that lie ahead of us "until the next time". The two hour sermon or the one hour venting session or the three hour advice we have with our friends are not prepped just for that moment, but prepped to last us until the next time we meet. Take notes, find a devotional you connect with, or have a partner to talk with throughout the process that can help you hold on to the leftovers that you can nibble on day by day.
When I eat spaghetti the next day or the day afterwards, it always taste ten times better. Something about letting it sit overnight, re-heating it, and consuming it for the second or third time, makes it better; makes me appreciate it a tad bit more. It is the same way with the word. Let that word sit overnight. Re-heat the word with prayer, fasting, connecting with mentors, reading a devotional. Consume that word again by applying it day by day. It will get better day by day.
The next time you consider throwing your spiritual leftovers in the trash, think about how it will help you.