I'm amazed at how hungry I can get. In fact, not just for food, but for a whole range of things. Hunger seems to be built into us. But sometimes our hunger gets us into trouble…
We want a new wardrobe. We want a second helping of dessert. We’re hungry for a promotion. We want more money. We desire the attention of another, and sometimes the “other” isn’t our husband or for you guys, it isn’t your wife. We long for affection and we try to fill the longing with all the wrong things… with all the wrong people.
Yep, sometimes our hunger gets us into trouble. But listen to this verse in Deuteronomy 8:3 and you’ll be surprised to learn just who it is who gives us longings and hungerings… whether it’s longings for the time and attention and affection of another, or longings for any number of different stuff. The verse says, “God humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.”
Did you hear that? Did you get it? The Lord is the one who, as it says, causes us to hunger. He is the one who has put within us a whole range of desires and yearnings. At first, this sure does seem odd. Doesn’t God know that the hungries often get us into trouble?
Well, God's got good reasons for blessing us humans with such large appetites. He has placed within us desires and dreams in order to test us and, as it says, humble us and teach us… God wants to see what’s in our heart… more to the point, He wants us to see what’s in our heart, to see whether or not we would obey and follow Him.
Only God has what we’re truly hungering after. We think it’s the affection of some wonderful man… we think it’s the attention of some attractive woman… we think it’s money or clothes or position or power. But fooling around with this stuff is like… well, it’s like settling for a hot dog when a steak is sizzling on the grill. It’s like settling for a Twinkie when you’re about to be served Boston cream pie. Trying to fill our own hunger is like opting for a beat-up Volkswagen when a Lexus could be yours.
Do you get the point? God causes us to hunger so that we might keep searching until our hunger pangs are satisfied in Him. He’s the steak on the grill, He’s the Boston cream pie, He’s the Lexus. In short, he satisfies absolutely every yearning. Because man does not live on bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. Only He can satisfy your hunger.
Used by permission of
JONI AND FRIENDS
P.O. Box 3333
Agoura Hills, CA 93176
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