There is nothing quite like the humid heat of the South. Our family moved to middle Tennessee last year from the Windy city of Chicago and even though it is still hot in the Midwest it isn't quite the same as the sticky humidity that the great South provides!

This summer has been NO exception. Have you ever been outside when the sun was so hot you were drenched in sweat just standing in one place? There have been many a summer days where I have gone out for a run and was just longing to be done because the heat was so intense and my throat was so parched. Knowing a glass of cold, refreshing, ice water was waiting for me once I got home was the only thing that kept me pushing till the end. Can you relate? Has anything ever tasted so refreshing? When you walk into the house after being in the heat like that, do you think to yourself, I'm just going to pass on that glass of water and go right for some hot coffee. Absolutely NOT! Why would you do that when you know that a cold refreshing glass of water would immediately quench your thirst and cool down your body?

In the book, "Gods At War", Kyle Idleman shares that "the god of food offered us a feast, but we came up empty. He invited us to consume until it consumed our lives." Have you ever felt this way? This idol promises satisfaction and happiness, but delivers only guilt, shame and emptiness. Yet, how often have I turned to food for emotional comfort when my life felt dry. In those moments, I fail to see how parched my soul really is and continue to do life in my own strength. When I am in that place, I miss that I am longing for something that only Jesus can provide. Idleman continues, "Jesus frees us from an abusive, dysfunctional relationship with food because He is our portion and in him we discover what we were searching for all along."
When I recognize that Jesus, reigning on the throne of my heart, is the only answer for quenching my thirsty soul, then I will have the peace that I am longing for. Jesus is the only person who can satisfy our heart's deepest longings. When we place Him in His rightful place, then our relationship with food will move into proper alignment as a gift, not a god.

John 4:14
"but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life."

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