Are you Spiritually Starving
Do you feel like you are spiritually starving? One of my sons we have nicknamed “Rolly” (you know the little puppy from 101 Dalmatians that’s always saying he’s hungry). When he was 4, he got to the place where he would ask for food the first time already defending himself, “… but Mama, I’m STILL hungry.”
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This nickname isn’t an insult, but rather a way for me to look at his constant hunger with a bit of humor as I feed him hourly all day long.
The thing is he asks me to feed him, because he knows I can be counted on to supply his needs. Just like a loving parent, Jesus offers to satisfy the cravings of our soul when we turn to him in faith.
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We are Offered Spiritual Food
This verse comes from the book of John. John was one of Jesus’ disciples and even went by the title, “the disciple that Jesus loved”. He would have witnessed firsthand the works of Jesus. He says in John 20:31 that he wrote the book “that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”
We are told in John 20:29, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” John focuses on all the miracles that Jesus performed and records them so that we thousands of years later can also have faith in Jesus’ work.
John 6 starts with the miracle that you may have heard in Sunday School. The disciples are panicking because a large crowd has gathered. There wasn’t enough money to feed everyone. Jesus takes five loaves, and two fish and multiplies it into enough food to feed 5,000.
It is after this amazing miracle that he reveals that just like he had the power to fill bellies with real bread and fish, he also is able to satisfy the cravings of our souls.
This picture would have felt familiar to the Israelites because they knew well the stories of the Old Testament and how when Israel wandered the desert, God sent them manna from heaven to quench their hunger.
The next time someone is desperately looking to you for food or asking, “What’s for dinner?” remember this: you are there and faithful to supply food for your children, spouse, or pets. You’re reliable and that’s why they count on you. Even more so when you’re so tired that your very bones feel like they are empty and collapsing in on themselves, Jesus says that he is able to bring fullness and hope to your heart and life!
