Category Archives: Fatness

Delighted in Fatness . . .

Isaiah 55:1-2 Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. 2 Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me,  and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.

 

Broken and Empty

My pastor talks frequently of peoples’ collective brokenness where we (both churched and unchurched) are so fragmented that we reach to the world with our anger, pain or hunger to quench the pain of being broken.  The past week has certainly demonstrated this.  I shared with a friend how the Church is the place to find healing  and a hospital.   The default response is to reach for a past life remedy that we have previously used to appease us.  Intriguing to see how some people turn their brokenness inward as they imbibe intoxicants (or in extreme cases cut themselves to create physical pain to mask emotional pain [ or brokenness] they’re experiencing.  Others push their pain outward indulging in everything from bar room brawls to acts of reactive terrorism. [e.g.  the solo sniper in Dallas]

Hope to Be Fed

Through the Prophet Isaiah we are offered a way to fill our emptiness.  The offer is made to all who thirst (thirst as a metaphor for emptiness with a desire to be healed) even those without money.  Isaiah challenges to buy without money in the way that a person with a litter of kittens insists that you want the kitten before they give it to you.  This is illustrated in the way that Jesus always asked supplicants what they would have him do.  We must ask to buy the wine and milk. Wine is symbolic of joy and milk is symbolic of spiritual food.  If you are really thirsty you must seek after that which will satisfy.

The next verse is rudimentary in meaning but asks a question that is very searching in poignancy: Why do you spend money for that which is not bread? and labor for that which doesn’t satisfy?  I remember Bishop Jakes commenting about how we look for things that pacify but don’t satisfy.  A baby may want milk or frequently desire to suckle when their tummy is full. If you give a pacifier, she gets the sensation but not the nourishment.  We search for sensation instead of the stuff that will feed our souls. [Side Note:  I wrote previously on what the soul is and  how it needs feeding see ” A Heaping Portion of Soul Food”.]

I have these verses on my business card referring to the fatness.  When properly prepared, beef neck bones are considered a delicacy. The dish yields cooked bone marrow that for some is delightful.  The dish is rich and fatty leaving the consumer very satisfied.  Thus, “Phat on Fruit” refers to being satisfied through the Word as it yields Fruit [satisfaction] in our lives.  I’m sure you were wondering where the name came from . . .

grace & peace

 

 

Quiet 2

 It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.

The word rendered vain in verse 3 of this psalm attributed to Solomon is shav, defined as “emptiness, vanity and nothingness”. He says it is vain to spend time worrying, pondering and/or fretting about problems, issues and situations, especially those that you can do very little about.  Notice Jesus’ admonition in Matthew 6:
25Therefore I tell you, stop being perpetually uneasy (anxious and worried) about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink; or about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life greater [in quality] than food, and the body [far above and more excellent] than clothing ?
and later: 
31Therefore do not worry and be anxious, saying, What are we going to have to eat? or, What are we going to have to drink? or, What are we going to have to wear?  32For the Gentiles (heathen) wish for and crave and diligently seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows well that you need them all.  33But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides. 34So do not worry or be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will have worries and anxieties of its own. Sufficient for each day is its own trouble. [AMP].
If we don’t have to worry about food, clothing or basic necessities, what do we have to worry about?  Doubtless some would say plenty!  The earnestly spiritual of us would say nothing – yet YES! I recognize that this is much easier said than done.  We are working to overcome and restore our ‘natural’ soul that remains prone to fear, intimidation and anxiety.  We have to focus on the solutions and the Solution-maker rather than our problems.   The story of David and Goliath showcases David’s focus on God and his refusal to focus on the size, aggression and braggadocio of Goliath. 
We will inevitably have sleepless nights, we will also have problems that we will attempt to cast upon the Lord only to take back later by trying to solve them ourselves.  Our need for the inherent peace and quiet of God’s kingdom and the need to have ongoing fellowship with the Lord brings us to Psalm 63 where the soul satisfaction theme of this blog is described and David describes his practice of fellowshipping with God in those night hours. 
Psalm 63:5-7
 5My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips:
 6When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches.
 7Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.

We would be very prudent to do the same.