Where to Take the Hunger

O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. Psalm 63:1 NASB

David penned these words in a wilderness. A place where food and water would be scarce if existent at all. He could easily relate his physical hunger and thirst to his spiritual hunger and thirst. The way his body craved sustenance was the way his soul craved God! God often times will use our physical world to help enlighten us on the spiritual world. Hence, Jesus’ use of parables to explain kingdom principles to His disciples. God knows I am a visual person so He is creative and extravagant with the visual aides He uses in my life.

Yesterday He used a moment of hunger to teach me some valuable truths. He reminded me of all the times I sought to avoid hunger at all costs. I would often choose to eat before hunger sat in as a way of preventing myself from even experiencing it. Food choices were poor, amounts were ridiculous, and the results were not good. I could not grasp the idea that hunger did not have to be feared. I can remember many days whereby I would eat whatever I wanted, in whatever amount I wanted, and every time I wanted. Yet, it never satisfied me. Talk about frustrating! What I had to learn was that there were right times to eat and right ways to eat.

God took those thoughts and opened my eyes to the spiritual significance. Just as I would avoid hunger at all costs, I had learned to avoid emptiness at all costs. I needed to be on spiritual highs and looked to fill my soul with relationships, knowledge, and activities. Always on the hunt. Always trying to take in “stuff” from my external world to fill up my internal world. God has shown me that although those things are good in themselves they are not my answer. He keeps saying, “Let Me be the One you hunger for and let Me be the One to satisfy you. When no one is available it becomes OUR time to be together. I will answer your questions, meet your needs, fill your emptiness, and satisfy your heart needs. I created you and know what’s best for you. Let me take care of you. Trust Me.”

Will going to Him bring about permanent results? No. As long as I live in this world and in this body I will have needs to bring to Him. I will have areas that need fixing. I will have places that need filling. Going to Him is a daily necessity! He will let me know when I am “feeding” on the wrong things and when I am looking to the wrong sources. He will not let the substitutes work for me. He loves me that much!

Father, I know what it is to be internally hungry. Keep teaching me to come to You with the needs and find true filling and satisfaction. Amen.