Hungry

Reese (age 3 then) and Remy (6 mo. then) were in the car together. It was feeding time for Remy, and she was getting fussy, trying to suck on everything within reach. Our daughter, Erica, had a bottle ready, but couldn’t give it to her while driving.

Remy was sucking on her blanket, the edge of her car seat, her fist…and when Reese reached over to console her, she tried sucking on Reese’s fist.

So Erica passed the bottle back to little Reese (a natural mommy) and asked Reese to give it to her in the car. As soon as Reese put the bottle near Remy’s mouth, she sucked it in and started moaning as she drank, like, “Finally, finally, finally.”

She was hungry! So hungry she was trying to eat counterfeits.

You might be too.

God created us with a natural hunger for meaning, and a connection with our Creator. That hunger is strong. So much so that we end up attempting to drink in counterfeits. Eating food that isn’t really food.

It’s why Isaiah asked, “Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy?” (Isaiah 55:2)

It’s only God and His Word that will satisfy the longing within you. It’s why Peter told us to direct our craving for more to Him…“Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good” (1 Peter 2:2-3).

How can you direct your inner hunger to real food that satisfies?

• Contemplate God’s love. “And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God” (Ephesians 3:18-19 NLT).

• Stop the junk food. All that counterfeit, temporary, stopgap foraging is only keeping you from what will satisfy. Stop the scrolling, the spending, and the material and short-term pleasure distractions. It’s only getting in the way of you drinking pure spiritual milk!

• Get into God’s Word daily, regardless of how you feel. Read Scripture daily, listen to Between the Lines daily, and change your morning routine to include a new habit that adjusts your desires. The more you read, the more you understand. And the more you understand, the more you desire it.

• Surround yourself with godly friends. Who you hang with most affects your desires. If you are around spiritually-minded people, you’ll desire spiritual food as well.

1 Peter 2:2 – “Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk!”