Awakening Our Hunger

A worker’s appetite works for him, for his hunger urges him on. Proverbs 16:26 (New American Standard Bible)

Appetites run strong in each of us. They drive us to possess the very things we hunger for. Most of us do not have to work at having a hunger for food. It is one of the reasons we get up each day and go to work. Our jobs provide the necessary income to purchase the food with which we stock our cupboards. In the early days of our country, the colonies had a problem with people not wanting to work. The solution was to enforce the biblical standard that if you don’t work you don’t eat. The eventual hunger drove the people to work when their own initiative failed them. In that case, their appetite worked for them and urged them on to work.

The same is true of our spiritual appetites. The hunger and thirst we have to know God is what urges us on to open His Word and take in His truth. It is meant to be more than an occasional snack. It is meant to be a feast and the sustenance our souls crave. It does not take long for our bodies to feel the effect of going without food. Go without food long enough and you experience weakness, hunger pains, a headache, and a general feeling of not feeling well. Our bodies crave food and the negative effects drive us to eat.

And yet hunger for the right foods can be dulled by taking in a lot of sweets and empty calories. I speak from experience when I say, I can feed on so many unhealthy choices that I no longer desire what is good for me. After a while I am eating but not finding satisfaction and a sense of fullness. There are also people who struggle with eating disorders and can eventually shut down the cravings for food all together. Not healthy!

Again, the same is true in a spiritual sense. A hunger for God’s Word is dulled by numerous other activities or shut down completely by pure starvation. But I assure you, the hunger is still there. It just needs to be reawakened. It is simply a matter of asking God to show us how hungry our souls really are for Him. At first, a person may open His Word and nothing seems to happen. But over time, with consistent feedings, the appetite gets stronger and reading His Word becomes an actual desire. It really is a rich food source!

Father, You are never insulted when I ask You to awaken my hunger for You. May my appetite be ravenous! Amen.