8-10 "By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God."
Hebrews 11:8-10 (NIV)
“The Rule of Threes” principle of survival states that a human can only survive about three weeks without food.
Deuteronomy 8:3 says: “… man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.”
I absolutely love food cooked over a campfire, and everything from s’mores to tube steaks are always on my camping menu. I also crave those foil pouches stuffed with meat and veggies. Throw them on the fire, go for a hike, and when you get back to camp – enjoy!
But if I were in a true survival situation, I’m not sure how I would respond to genuine hunger. From what I’ve watched on TV, I’ve seen that lack of nourishment makes humans weak, lethargic, cranky and mentally confused.
The spiritual analogy is obvious; our only concern can’t just be to feed our physical bodies. We must give thought to feeding our souls too, or we may be in danger of becoming spiritually malnourished.
So what are you eating, friend? Here are four survival keys to help keep you spiritually nourished during your camping journey.
- Establish your food source – In John 6:35 Jesus says, “I am the bread of life.”
Before you can be well-nourished spiritually you must come to faith in Jesus Christ. The food that this world has to offer is neither satisfying nor life-giving. Don’t starve yourself.
- Mature and grow and begin to feed yourself – Hebrews 5:12-14 says that everyone who partakes only of milk is an infant, but solid food is for the mature.
Athletes thrive on developing strength, skill, stamina and stature; do the same spiritually. Learn to feed yourself solid food from God’s Word, moving on from the elemental teachings, grasping the deep, rich, challenging theological ideas of faith. Don’t coddle yourself.
- Feed yourself daily, don’t just gorge yourself on Sundays – Colossians 3:16 says, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom ...”
Humans don’t eat only once a week. That’s not how your body was designed by God, and neither did He design your soul to eat of God’s Word, your soul food, only once a week.
To mature properly in faith, you need to be fed daily, to ingest and digest the Word often. Don’t stunt your growth.
- Open the pantry, enjoy God’s smorgasbord of healthy food – 2 Timothy 3:16 (NIV) says, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.”
The pantry is stocked with the most amazing fresh, organic, wholesome food. Become a “master chef” of the Word of God. Don’t be content with stale crumbs that fall from someone else’s plate.
Athlete, your survival depends on making wise food choices – feasting on God’s living Word daily. It is possible to be well fed even in the harshest wilderness.
A prayer to consider: Lord, help me to learn to feed myself daily with the nourishing food of Your Word.
