“Consume me from the inside out”
At one point I heard a quote that, according to the internet, has been attributed to motivational speaker Tony Robbins: “People change when the pain of staying the same is greater than the pain of change.”
I don’t know who Tony Robbins is, so I must have heard the quote from someone who was quoting him. Regardless of my knowledge of motivational speakers, I think the quote rings true for all of us.
We only really change when the pain of staying the same is greater than the discomfort that comes along with changing.
For example, I’m currently at the heaviest weight I’ve ever been in my life. I know it’s not healthy and that I should do the work to lose some weight, but honestly, the motivation to do so isn’t there because the pain of changing my eating habits is currently greater than the discomfort, I feel from being overweight.
The reality is then, that I can’t expect to lose weight if I’m not willing to change.
What needs to happen in order for me to make progress toward my goals? Something has to happen that penetrates my heart and motivates me to change my outward actions.
In other words, an inward change needs to happen before there is an outward one.
I currently love food more than I love healthy living. There is always a battle raging within us for our hearts. Look at what God says in Deuteronomy 6:5:
Deuteronomy 6:5
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”
There are three key words here: heart, soul, and might. Below is my paraphrase of Blue Letter Bible’s definitions of these words.
Heart – the inner part; the core of your being1
Soul – the whole person2
Might – exceedingly much; muchness3
I’m probably the farthest thing from a linguistics expert, but looking at those three words, one can draw the conclusion that we are to love God at the core of our being, with every part of who we are, and with every bit of energy and effort we have.
Here’s the thing: our actions won’t change, and our effort won’t reflect that call unless our heart is first pierced—unless something grabs us deep within our core.
This Sunday we are going to be looking at Exodus 32–34. In these chapters we find the famous story of the golden calf.
If you’re not familiar with the story, Moses goes up on Mount Sinai to receive the commandments that the nation of Israel is to follow. While he is there, the people think he’s been gone too long and ask Aaron to make a god for them.
Exodus 32:1
“When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, ‘Make us gods who shall go before us.'”
Look at what God says to Moses in response to the creation of the calf.
Exodus 32:7–8
“And the Lord said to Moses, ‘Go down, for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. They have turned aside quickly out of the way that I commanded them. They have made for themselves a golden calf and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it and said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!”‘”
The big question is why. Why would they turn away from what God had commanded them? Why would the people demand “gods who shall go before them” when they had seen God move in such magnificent ways?
- They saw God deliver them from the hands of Pharaoh through the plagues in Egypt (Exodus 7–11).
- They were given a pillar of cloud and a pillar of fire to guide them (Exodus 13:21–22).
- They saw God part the sea and give them an escape route (Exodus 14).
I think, to answer that question, we need to go back to our passage in Deuteronomy and think about what was on their hearts. What was the desire of their innermost being? I don’t think their greatest desire was worship. Instead, it was provision. They wanted to know how they would survive.
Survival is an important concern. However, even a good thing became a bad thing because it caused them to shift the priorities of their hearts and act in ways that did not honor God.
They found themselves in a place they didn’t want to be. There was confusion and anxiety over what would happen next when Moses was gone longer than expected. I think that is when the shift happened. They had followed God (albeit not always willingly), yet they still found themselves in a place they didn’t want to be.
What do we do when living the way God wants us to live doesn’t produce the results we desire? What happens when you are following God with the way you live but still find yourself facing a difficult situation?
It’s in those moments that our hearts are tested. Do we, at the core of our being, still desire for God to be glorified above everything else we desire in life?
Our actions in those difficult situations tell us the answer. There can be a key change that happens in our hearts during those times that will reveal our true desires. We stop asking ourselves, “How does God want me to respond?” and instead begin responding with, “This is what I deserve.”
For example, you may be struggling financially and apply for a promotion at work, but you’re passed over for someone else. You could respond by asking, “How does God want me to deal with this?” Or you could begin making compromises and finding ways to have the company “help” your financial situation by taking things from the office that don’t belong to you, justifying it by saying, “I deserve this.”
There is always a battle raging for our hearts, and the hardest part is that this is a daily battle. It’s not something we conquer once; it’s something we must fight every day, in every situation, with all that we are.
There is a line in one of our songs this Sunday that says,
“Consume me from the inside out, Lord.”4
Meaning, may the presence, power, and ways of God impact our hearts—our inmost being—in such a way that they overpower our selfish desires and dictate our outward actions.
At the start of this devotional, I gave a quote that said people won’t change until the pain of staying the same outweighs the pain of change.
What is the pain of not following God? To answer that, I think we need to look at Matthew 7:13–14.
Matthew 7:13–14
“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”
The pain of not following God is destruction—both spiritually, in terms of not knowing Him, and practically, in the sense that we often make a giant mess of our lives.
Following God often requires us to deny our own desires, but it leads to life—both spiritually, in terms of everlasting life and fellowship with God through Christ, and practically, because although life won’t be trouble-free, it is better because God is with us through it.
What is currently fighting for your heart?
One of the hardest things about the Christian walk is that these are daily battles. Salvation is not something we earn day after day. It is the gracious work of God in our lives. However, sanctification is a daily battle. We battle daily with the desires of our flesh and the longings of our hearts (Galatians 5:16).
Take some time to examine your heart. Identify what is fighting for control there, and spend time asking God to “consume you from the inside out.” Pray that His power and presence would overwhelm your selfish desires and shape your actions.
Adam