Happy to be a Chubby Christian!

Would you consider yourself a Chubby Christian?

The Bible teaches us that we are happier as a Chubby Christian than a skinny one. Let’s look at why.

** And he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul. ** Psalm 106:15

If you are familiar with the Old Testament, you know that the Lord chose the nation of Israel as his own. He blessed them and protected them and led them to the Promised Land. Although the people of this nation saw the great miracles of God move in their favor, they fell into disbelief, envy and selfish interests that drew their hearts away from Him. Because of this, God **sent leanness into their soul. ** Even though their basic material needs were still met, their hearts and souls were empty and barren. They lost their close connection with the Lord.

** Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. ** Psalm 37:3

The other part of the story is the heart of David and his desire to always learn from and cling to the Lord. Psalm 37 tells us that trusting the Lord and doing what is good and right brings the promise that we will be well fed. These two simple things will keep us Chubby: trusting and doing good!

Trusting the Lord requires us to keep one eye on eternity and one on today. That means that we can do what’s right, right now, in the middle of trials and victories. Then, while we are waiting for all that God is keeping in our Trust Fund account in Heaven, He also tells us that what we face today is taken care of as well. He will feed us abundantly, and care for all of our basic needs both physically and spiritually, every day.

In this same Psalm 37, David tells us, ** I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. ** Psalm 37:25

As the Lord provides for us materially and economically from day to day, He is teaching us His faithfulness and His Integrity as He keeps his promises to us. What He does for us here, daily, is a glimpse into what our eternal life with Him will be like. If He is able to keep every promise to us here on earth, and do it better than we ever imagined, won’t His fulfilling of our promises for Heaven be beyond our imagination as well?

** The Lord redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate. ** Psalm 34:22

The Psalms reminds us again and again that our job is to trust and the Lord’s job is to provide.

Desolation is a bleak, empty existence. Unhappiness reigns in a desolate world. But we, as the Lord’s children, live a full, joyful, banquet-laden life. If we are feeling more desolate than we are feeling joyful, then we need to ask ourselves where we took a wrong turn. Or more likely, we may just need to ask the Lord to show us the abundance that we can’t see. Sometimes, we are looking so hard at what we don’t have or what the Lord has yet to do, that we miss the blessings and provision that are right in front of us. We choose to live in scarcity and leanness instead of rejoicing in the opportunity to be Chubby!

I often remind our ladies here in Spain, in a country that is still recovering from an economic crisis, that we all live better than most kings and queens did throughout history. We have indoor plumbing, heated homes, air conditioned cars, closets overflowing with clothes we haven’t worn in years, and refrigerators and cupboards that have so much in them that we end up throwing expired food away. We live the life of a Chubby Christian!

** He that is of a proud heart stirreth up strife: but he that putteth his trust in the Lord shall be made fat. ** (Proverbs 28:2)

Striving with others, or striving with the Lord will not bring us to an attitude of plentifulness. Strife will push both people and the Lord a measurable distance from us. Our pride can build a wall between us and the Lord’s care for us. When we are full of ourselves, there is no room in our world for Him. And again, sometimes striving (struggling, being frustrated, complaining, arguing, etc. ) is based on looking at what isn’t there instead of looking at all the good the Lord has given us. When the children of Israel whined about their circumstances and stopped trusting in the life that the Lord provided for them, he ** sent leanness into their soul**. As Christians, we don’t want that kind of scarcity. We want to be fat! We should love the privilege of being Chubby! We should want to be so full of God’s Truth and Mercy and Grace and Kindness that we want to give some of it away! But focusing on what we don’t have will only limit the supply of His spiritual bounty and make us feel too thin, cold and forsaken.

** The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want **. Psalm 23:1

The Lord is faithful to care for and provide for us every day. At times we are materially rich with full refrigerators and closets. But our hearts and souls are never empty from the day we kneel before His cross and invite the Lord into our lives. He fills us with His love and His grace until we are overflowing. With the Lord being true to His Word, we are all destined to be Chubby Christians. At the very least, we will have Chubby Hearts, full of the blessings of the Lord.