Hungry Is a Good Feeling

Matthew 4:4b

“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” (ESV)

People typically eat three meals a day along with some snacks here and there.  Or, if you’re like me, you eat when you’re hungry because it’s an uncomfortable feeling that you don’t want to feel long.  Well, have you ever felt hungry and thought that it was a good feeling?  I don’t remember a time that I had until yesterday.  I’ve been sick this week and most of the week I haven’t even felt hungry despite hardly eating.  So yesterday, when I finally felt genuinely hungry again, it felt good!  It felt good because my body finally knew what it needed again and was seeking it.  Now, I’m starting to feel regularly hungry again as my body recognizes that it needs more and more nutrients in order to be healthy.

Do you ever feel hungry for time with God?  Spiritual hunger is a very good thing, because it means that we are craving a deeper relationship with God.  In Matthew 4, Jesus was quoting a passage in Deuteronomy when he said that “man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”  God’s word is our spiritual fuel, essentially.  If we aren’t spending time in God’s word then we are not getting the nutrients necessary to live in a way pleasing to him.

Think about this: Our bodies need food continually in order to function because the nutrients we take in for one meal are quickly spent on our daily activities.  Thus, we need to “refuel” in order to go about our day to the best of our ability.  Why, then, do we assume that simply going to church a couple of times a week is enough to keep us going?  We need so much more than that!  I really struggled to get a good devotional routine going when I was in high school, but I’ve learned that the more the better.  Not just because it sounds good, but because the more frequently I’m in God’s word, the more spiritually fed I feel.  Also, the more frequently I get used to being in God’s word, the more I begin to crave his word.

On that note, it is hard to eat something when you aren’t hungry at all.  However, I’ve learned this week, being sick, that I know I should be hungry, because I haven’t eaten, so I need to try to eat because it’s what’s best for me.  Likewise, if I have not been in God’s word recently, and I am not craving his word, I can still know that I need it and force myself to partake in it because it is what’s best for me.  In time, your soul will begin to realize that it needs that spiritual food.

My challenge to you today is this: Seek God more.  However much you’re being “fed” now, seek him more.  You can never get too much of God’s word.  Once a day is good, twice a day is better.  Try it for awhile and see.