A Bowl of Chicken Soup

S

everal years ago, I visited an oral surgeon to have two teeth extracted.  It wasn't exactly my idea of a swell time but it was necessary to prevent further difficulties with my mouth later on.  I have very little recollection of the procedure but I was sure it took place because I was sore and just a little swollen, with a space in my mouth where the teeth used to be.  Other than these obvious signs, you'd never know I had anything done to my mouth.

Due to the wounds in my mouth, I had to follow a set procedure about eating.  For the first twenty-four-hour period, I could have nothing hot and nothing solid.  This effectively relegated my diet to ice cream and pudding.  Although they are good and fun to eat, a constant diet of them leaves much to be desired.  It's one thing when you know you can have them and it's something totally different when you know that's all you can have to eat.

The following day, however, I could have warm food.  Now, solid food was still a bit tricky so I found myself craving chicken soup.  No matter what else I considered eating, chicken soup kept winning out.  I knew it would be warm, I knew it would taste good, and I knew it would make me feel better.  Nothing else would satisfy me this evening. It had to be chicken soup or nothing.  I went to a local restaurant that served great chicken noodle soup and ordered myself a bowl.  As I began to eat it, I felt satisfied, soothed, and relieved.  That bowl of chicken soup was the one thing I wanted, the one thing that would satisfy me, the one thing that would meet my need. 

David, Israel's most beloved king and writer of numerous psalms, understood what it was to have a craving for only one thing.  In Psalm 27:4-5, the New Living Translation records his words,

The one thing I ask of the Lord—

the thing I seek most—

is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,

delighting in the Lord’s perfections

and meditating in his Temple.

                  For he will conceal me there when troubles come;

he will hide me in his sanctuary.

He will place me out of reach on a high rock.

Here, David makes a list of the things that are the most important for life.  Notice that he asks the Lord for one thing.  In other words, David prays specifically and he continues asking for that one thing over and over, constantly seeking it above all other request.  However, unlike our prayers at times, David does not seek possessions, favorable circumstances, power, money, etc.  Instead, the one desire of his heart is to "live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, delighting in the Lord's perfections and meditating in his temple."

What did David mean by this prayer?  What, exactly, was he searching for?  I believe David wanted to be as close to God as possible.  In order to live continually in God's house, to walk in his presence, to fully understand God, would mean to have a relationship with him that was unhampered by anyone or anything else.  Just imagine what our own walks with God would be like if this were the earnest prayer of our heart; that nothing in life would be more important than our relationship with our Heavenly Father.

Moreover, David realizes that when our relationship with God is our most important concern, then we reap the benefits of all God has to offer.  Notice how David says confidently that God will hide him in time of trouble and he will place him out of the reach of any difficulty.  When we totally rely on God, when he becomes our one goal, when we seek to please him and no other, then we find in him all that we desire, all that we need, all we could imagine or dream.  This in no way means the road ahead will be easy, but it does mean that we will never walk it alone or without the help of the one who knows us and who created us for his glory.

The chicken soup I had that evening satisfied my need and provided comfort.  However, my mouth was still sore and many days of recovery lay ahead.  But continually partaking of hot, rich, healthy, chicken soup, made me feel better in the end and provided the comfort I needed until I was back in tip top shape. 

If a small thing like chicken soup is good for healing a small mouth wound, don't you just know how good God's presence, his love, and his word are good for healing all that ails the human heart and soul?  So, how 'bout it?  Don't you feel like having a bowl of soup today?  I heartily recommend a heaping dose of God's word.  It will cure what ails you!!!