Reflections and illusions

I've been making some life changes when it comes to nutrition and exercise so naturally my thoughts are going to lean in that direction. I was reading a devotional this morning and it brought to mind something I had learned recently. Bear with me. 

In the past whenever I experienced a food craving, I would reach for the food in which I was craving. Sounds logical, right? Well I have learned recently, that it was actually water my body was craving. I had misinterpreted it. When I drink the water instead, my craving is satisfied and I am held over until the appropriate meal or snack time. 

So here's what I'm getting at...

The devotion I was reading was a part of a seven day devotional written by Mike Donehey of Tenth Avenue North. He says, "This one thought changed everything. That every beautiful thing I get enamored by is just a reflection of the One who made it. Any beauty I am dazzled by or promise I'm lured by, it's always Him my soul is hungry for. And when I see that, all other temptations lose their power. To understand all that I love is merely a mirror pointing me upward frees me to let those things go. I don't have to have them, I have to have the One Who made them. And the pleasure and reward His presence offers far surpasses..."

All this time I was focusing on what my heart wanted. For me, I've always struggled on the relationship front. Embarrassed to admit this, but I even became angry when a relationship fell through before it ever took off. I remember a moment filled with pure grief and tears when talking to my mother about it. She said what everyone always says..."it just wasn't God's will." 

I remember the anger I felt when hearing those words. I was tired of it. I'd heard it all my life. I didn't understand why all these other people could be in and out of relationships, go through heart break, get over it and start over again. But then God would never let me get to the starting line. 

I remember shouting on the phone, "I just wish He would let me make a mistake!" How foolish is that?

God was guarding me, protecting me and I wanted nothing to do with it. I believed whole-heartedly that a relationship could satisfy me. The whole time God was quietly saying, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. (John 6:35 NLT)

Those desires, the things we crave so fiercely, are mere reflections of what our soul is craving. It's not about the relationship. It's not about the new car or beautiful house. It's not about a burgeoning business or making your first million. That's all an illusion. You're really craving, needing  the One who created it all. 

This Overflow Devo by Tenth Avenue North can be found on the YouVersion Bible App.