SLUGGARDS COME IN VANILLA, CHOCOLATE, AND STRAWBERRY - "Feed on His Faithfulness" Devotional #3

"Do not fret ... Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart."

– Psalms 37:1,4 (NKJV, excerpts)

"A few treats!? The Captain wasn't kidding!" says young Kris Atwood, as he crests a strenuous mountain climb and encounters a rest area piled high with sweets and goodies. "Ohhhhh!  Mmmmmmmm!!  Wow!  Let's see...  [munch ... slurp]  Ohhhhhh, wow!"

Here he's startled, his feasting interrupted by three heavy-eyed Sluggards in Neapolitan colors, who spend their lives at this very spot doing nothing but napping and devouring treats.

"Sit dowwwwwnnnnn.  Enjoy the feasssssssttttt [sllllurrrrrrp!]," says Vanilla Sluggard.

"Rest uuuuuuuuuup a biiiiiiiiit," says Chocolate Sluggard.

"Caaaaaan't," says Kris, becoming more drowsy by the moment under the Sluggards' spell. "Gotta get to the Gaaaaaaates of Wizzzzzdommmmmmmmmmm."

"Noooooo hurry, dahhhhhhhhhhhling!" says Strawberry Sluggard, "reeeeeeeeeeeelaxxxxxxxxxx!"

"Resssssssssst.  Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeat!" says Vanilla Sluggard, dragging Kris by the foot with a candy cane toward another pile of sweets.

"Sluggards!!  Captain said to watch out for sluggards!" says Kris, as he springs to life and takes off running down the Path of Righteousness, continuing his trek to Mount Wizzdom.

"Got away!" the Sluggards whimper, as they give up and return to their idleness.

–Scene from the stop-action claymation movie Hoomania (Adelphi Productions / Gospel Films, 1985)
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Our protagonist in this vintage kids' flick [Hint: YouTube!] is Kristopher "Kris" Atwood, who is magically transformed into a pawn in a board game based on the Book of Proverbs, where he is schooled in the Ways of Wisdom.  As he enters the game, the "Captain" explains the object of the game (which is to reach the Gates of Mount Wizzdom) and reads him the rules—including: beware of Sluggards, don't draw a Dodo Card, and you're allowed to sample some treats that you'll encounter along the way.

Continuing our journey through Psalm 37—the chapter on de-stressing our lives and feeding on His faithfulness—let's ponder what may be the number-one stressor we all hate to admit to: "If I take His yoke upon me ... I'LL NEVER AGAIN BE ALLOWED TO ENJOY THE GOOD THINGS OF LIFE!"

See, we imagine God to be like the von Trapp father character in The Sound of Music—all about work, and study, and ... oh, horrors! ... certainly NO relaxation or enjoyment!  And yet, our Lord front-loads this point at the top of the Psalm.  Right after the preamble about "do not fret" and "feed on His faithfulness," He drops into the laundry list of stressors and how to combat them.  And in His divine wisdom, He starts right out of the gate with Number One: "Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart."

Are we saying that God's antidote to stress is that He wants us fat and happy?  Certainly not!  If that were the case, then the Apostle Paul seems to have missed the memo.  See I Corinthians chapter 4: "hungry and thirsty ... beaten and homeless ... reviled and defamed" ... oh, my!  In this world we will have tribulation, and being ambassadors of Christ naturally comes with adversity.

And yet, here's where we circle back to Matthew 11:28-30, because HIS YOKE IS EASY.  Just as our Lord endured the cross because of "the joy that was set before Him," He empowers us to find great JOY in the journey.  He DE-STRESSES the tribulation and adversity, balancing it with His provision of every good thing in Christ Jesus.

How, then, do we achieve that delicate balance?  It's simple, as with all facets of Psalm 37.  We start in verse 3 by trusting (in the Lord), doing (good), and dwelling (in the land--where we feed on His faithfulness).  In other words, STOP the fretting!  Yield up your neck to His yoke; He does the rest ... and GIVES us rest.

- In the Old Testament, God balanced the duty of bringing sacrifices to the temple—heave offerings and wave offerings—with the joy of feasting on those sacrifices ... "whatever your heart desires" (Deuteronomy 14:26).

- As the people experienced great revival, with tears of repentance, Nehemiah encouraged them to "go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength." (Nehemiah 8:10, NIV)

- When the prodigal's brother complained that his father had never given him "a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends," did the father admonish him about the evils of feasting?  On the contrary, dad responded, "You don't get it!  All I have is yours!"  

 

Ah ... and here's where we begin to find our Heavenly Father's heart revealed in the words of Jesus!  See, when we grasp the fact that we're true sons and daughters of the Almighty, that all He has is ours, that we can offer our neck to His yoke without fear—to work HIS field, to be about HIS business, to seek first HIS kingdom and righteousness in the earth, to be servant-ambassadors of Heaven rather than living for ourselves, and to DELIGHT ourselves in the Lord and in His yoke—well, NOW we experience the fulfillment of the desires of our heart ... which just might be the desires of HIS heart birthed in us more and more each day, hallelujah!

"But," you might ask, "exactly WHEN should I expect to see the desires of my heart fulfilled?"  

 

Remember the rules of the game.  As the Hoomania "Captain" said, you will encounter "treats along the way."  Sometimes it will be after a grueling uphill battle, or simply when you least expect it.  But with your neck in the yoke, you will surely find goodness, mercy, and rest for your soul—His "peace that passes all understanding."

Why not pray ...  

"Dear Father,
Forgive me for secretly being a Sluggard—prioritizing the "few treats along the way," such as comfort, entertainment, and relaxation—to the exclusion of serving in Your yoke.  Help me de-stress at the thought of missing out on the "good things of life" and instead "trust, do, and dwell" in Your faithfulness, seeking Your kingdom first, and thereby finding Your promised provision and REST.
In Jesus' name. Amen."

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Originally published as a “Bradstix” devotional on the National Minute of Prayer Facebook page 4/6/2025.

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