This Is Our God - Chris Tomlin featuring David Crowder

A refuge for the poor, a shelter from the storm
This is our God
He will wipe away your tears and return your wasted years
This is our God

So call upon His name, He is mighty to save
This is our God

A father to the orphan, a healer to the broken
This is our God
And he brings peace to our madness and comfort in our sadness
This is our God

So call upon His name, He is mighty to save
This is our God

This is the one we have waited for
Jesus, Lord and Savior
This is our God

A fountain for the thirsty, a lover for the lonely
This is our God
He brings glory to the humble and crowns for the faithful
This is our God

So call upon His name, He is mighty to save
He is mighty to save

This is the one we have waited for
Jesus, Lord and Savior
This is our God

You are the one we have waited for
Jesus, Lord and Savior
This is our God

So the past couple of weeks at church, we have been going through 1 Peter and looking what it meant to be "displaced". I felt the last few weeks have been rather convicting (as to how much I don't love...), but last Sunday's really opened my eyes about how I was not feeding on God's milk (aka, His Word).

My quiet times and productivity during the day have been subpar since I started my third year at college. I started a time management exercise where I recorded everything I did in 30-minute increments throughout the day onto a spreadsheet. Then I played with formulas until I was able to accurately gauge how I spent my time in percentages. I started last Tuesday and it's been about a week now. I spend about 30% of my time sleeping (especially when I try to squeeze at least 7 hours a night), but what came in second was internet time. I spent more time on the internet than on my classes and homework combined. I knew I had an unhealthy addiction to the internet and this further validated my assumption.

So this Sunday, the message was focused on being nourished by God and why are we not hungry.
The primary reason is because we are full of something else in this world. That we have become so dependent on something so far apart from Christ, that it becomes an idol. That when we think we can live independently of God, it is sin. It's difficult to develop a hunger when you are already bloated with something far less fulfilling than what God has to offer. When you think that you can handle your time, your relationships, your time, your work, your life in general...by yourself, you have already let pride come in between you and God. We can't lean on God when we are leaning on other things in this world or ourselves. We lose sight that sometimes God wants us to struggle in order for us to be broken, and we are also tempted to solely focus on God's goodness rather than our need for Him.

Being Christian does not mean your life is perfect or completely under control.

Sometimes, the "perfect nice person who can handle it all" is merely a facade of how far apart they are from God. That they believe and invest so much in their own abilities, it is as if the existence of God would not influence how well they man their life. Personally, I struggle with both finding something other than God to fulfill me and thinking that I have the skill to manage my time effectively. The combination of my time management spreadsheet and this Sunday's sermon, I fail so miserably at earnestly seeking God. Instead of quiet times first thing in the mornings, I would find myself checking my email. Instead of socializing and loving those around me, I find myself wanting to post on my forum or playing flash games or tweeting. Instead of investing in my classes more and using the privilege of being at an art college, I am lazy and master procrastination skills that allows me to turn in mediocre work that I am ashamed of. I need to depend less on the internet to kill time and depend more on God's Word to grow spiritually.

What are you nourishing or craving for?