God Hunger

Appetite doesn't always diminish with age.

At 95 years of age, you'd think that she'd eat like a bird. But not this nursing home resident. She's one of our church's shut-ins who recently found herself in the hospital. As I walked in, her daughter-in-law was busy feeding her a liquid diet composed of apple juice, chicken broth, and Jell-O. None of that sounded appetizing to me, but I hadn't been five days without food as she had. "Apple juice," she called, and her daughter-in-law put it to her mouth. "Chicken broth." And the same response. Then, "Jell-O." She continued to demand food until she had eaten every last bite and drunk every last drop.

I've watched many elderly people's appetites change. Some who were healthy eaters now eat just enough to get by — or don't, and dehydrate. Others experience a change of taste buds. Whereas they once ate healthy food, now, they want sweets. But this elderly lady wanted the good stuff. She ate anything and everything that they served her at the nursing facility.

As I watched her demand food to satisfy her hunger, I thought of this verse:

Matthew 5:6 – God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied. (NLT)

Jesus addressed hunger, but He wasn't talking about physical hunger. Spiritual hunger was on His mind. Physical hunger, in the extreme, leads to death, but spiritual hunger can lead either to death or to a healthier life.

From the time a person is old enough to know the difference between right and wrong, God begins to create a spiritual hunger in their souls. This explains why all people groups in history have worshipped something. It might have been the elements of nature, or wooden or stone objects that represented their gods. Yet they worshipped.

What I do to satisfy this hunger is crucial. Turning to nature or man-made idols won't satisfy my appetite. My idols have never been constructed of stone or wood, but I have formed them in the shapes of sports, hobbies, work, and relationships. That was before I reached the point when I recognized that I had a hunger for God — to know Him better — to serve Him fully. I discovered that no thing, person, or relationship could properly take His place. The ache in my belly can be satisfied only by loving God with all my heart, soul, mind, and spirit.

Let God, and God alone, satisfy your spiritual cravings.

Prayer: Father, create in us a hunger that only You can satisfy. Amen.

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