Posted on July 1, 2013
Insatiable
In John 6 is a Bible story many of us have heard since we were children. A hungry crowd had been listening to Jesus teach for hours. The only food to be found was a little boy’s lunch, meant to feed his own growling stomach. The boy willingly surrendered his five barley rolls and two fish to Jesus.
From that small offering, five thousand men—besides women and children—were fed. (Most estimate the total number to be around 20,000!) They ate until they were satisfied, then watched as twelve baskets full of leftover broken bread were gathered—much more bread than had been given to start with.
Jesus looked on hungry people with compassion, and filled them. They marveled at the bread and fish He produced, grateful and amazed at His generous provision. But in reality, they had been feasting all day! They’d spent the day listening to the Messiah feed their souls, long before a small boy shared his lunch. The miracle we remember involved physical food, but the best satisfaction had nothing to do with bread and fish.
Hunger. We’re so easily distracted by physical need that, as long as our mouths are fed, we forget we have a deeper craving. I pray that God will keep me aware of my most important need, and make me ravenous for the “food” only He can give.
In his book How To Study the Bible For Yourself, Tim LaHaye tells of meeting a missionary he greatly admired. When LaHaye asked the man the secret of his consistent spiritual walk, the missionary answered, “I never miss a daily time with God in prayer and Bible study. . . . I made a sacred vow with God, no Bible, no breakfast. . . . If I am too rushed to feed my soul, I am too busy to feed my body.”
If we ate physical food only after we fed ourselves spiritually, would we be well-fed, or sickly and starving? On how many days do we neglect the real feast?
Insatiable—
burning thirst,
heart hunger,
holy ache for You.
Insatiable—
burning thirst,
heart hunger,
no substitute will do.
Quench! Fill! Satisfy!
O God, O God, O God!
© Diane McLoud 2013
Wow, that was good! I believe that we need to feast on the Word every day, but some might actually be able to feast better when their stomach isn’t growling. Trouble is, by the time you get that far in the day it’s very hard to get back that special Word-time with the Lord. Not impossible, just difficult. That guy is right, but I’d never go so far as to make a vow. 🙂
I agree it’s a deep commitment to make a vow, but it shows the importance that man placed on Bible study. I think a lot more of us need to recognize that priority. By the way, Becky, you just made the 100th comment on my blog! Thanks for participating. I’ll be emailing you one of my favorite Bible study tools for studying the psalms!
Inspiring! Needed these words this morning!
Trust me, I need the reminders too! It’s so easy to let time with the Lord get crowded out of our days, isn’t it? Glad the Spirit persistently prods us to put first things first.