Tuesday evening, I spent the night down in Evansville preparing to visit the client I work with on the east side of town. A co-worker of mine also was down in the area working at another location and since we haven’t seen each other in a while, we decided to have dinner together at a local pizza place. It’s a place that I go to frequently at lunch and the folks that I usually go with like to have salad and pizza. So for my evening meal, I decided to try something different.
My friend had the pizza, but I ordered a salad with shredded chicken – thinking that it would be filling and satisfy my hunger after a long day at the office. I was wrong. Quite honestly, I was a little disappointed in the portion size and after finishing the salad, I couldn’t help but take another look at the menu for something small to munch on. There were burgers and all kinds of appetizers but nothing quite hit the spot. But then, I saw it – the perfect complement to my salad.
There, in small print at the bottom of the menu, was a description of the “Cheapo Special.” Now I am not kidding, although at first I thought it was a joke. The listing was as follow: “a single slice of turkey on day old bread – no chips, no pickle… $1.09.” I almost laughed out loud and the guy I was with actually did laugh out loud. In all the times I have been there, I have never seen this particular entry on the menu. It was just what I needed to finish the meal. So I ordered it… even the server laughed.
When the order was delivered to me, I have to say the description was accurate. There was one slice of turkey that was real – not processed – on a piece of French bread that was undoubtedly a day old. And you know what? It was a great little sandwich. I didn’t miss the chips or the pickle but I was full when we left the restaurant. It really hit the spot…
It occurred to me that sometimes a meal doesn’t have to be elegant or perfect – just nourishing and sometimes, in fact, cheap… The important thing is that we all need nourishment. We much each partake of the food. But just a little bit can get us through when we need something to just hold us over for a time. By the way, that’s the way it is with our faith lives.
Sometimes we have time for a feast – a full day or longer with God. Reading, praying, studying and learning more about God and His Son, our Savior, Jesus. When I was in seminary, I had a “faith feast” every day – and I loved every moment of it. But since then, back in the reality of the working world, it is more difficult to take all the time I need to really feast on the word of God on a regular basis. But that doesn’t mean that I can do without any spiritual nourishment. Even if I only have time for a quick snack or a reduced portion, it is absolutely fundamental to my life that I have time with God. And notice that I can still be nourished even if I don’t have access to a full day of communion with the Lord.
The verse for this evening is from the Psalms. The psalmist is writing about the awesome nature of God and tells us, in Psalm 77:12, “I will meditate on all your works and consider all your mighty deeds.” Sometimes, just to focus on one of the aspects of God is enough to get through the day. But as you can see, when time permits, we are to focus on all the aspects of God and the deeds that He has done. My encouragement tonight is that God wants to nourish us – and He knows what we need to be fulfilled. My prayer is that you will never go hungry and that you will recognize the need to nourish yourself – whether it is “steak” or something a little simpler, you should never go without… Have a great day in the Lord, grace and peace…