Hungry

Very few here in Arlington, TX have experienced true hunger. Have you ever been in a place where you truly didn't know where your next meal was coming from? Or have you ever had the worry of feeding your child? I haven't. Well, maybe I didn't know where the next meal was coming from, but I knew that I'd be back in the States in a few days and wouldn't really have to worry about it.

The worship song "Hungry" by Kathryn Scott is a hard song for me to sing. "Hungry, I come to You, for I know You satisfy." It's difficult because I don't know what physical hunger is. It's difficult because I know personally of people who experience it every day, and I'm helpless to change that.

The closest I've ever come to hunger was when I was in Eastern Cuba. The people there literally did not know where their next meal would come from. The man that picked us up from the airport told us of his daily routine. He wakes up in the morning, prays for food, and then goes about the town trying to find food for his family. I can't imagine having to search for my food each morning. Nor can I imagine the possibility of not finding it and coming home empty-handed.

I brought in my snacks with me to Cuba--trail mix, beef jerky, etc. During our journey, we picked up several Cuban ministers to take with us to our meeting point. They were hungry. We thought, "We'll buy them some food". We went to town after town with our money, ready to buy food. There was none to be had. I pulled out the trail mix and the beef jerky, and they ate and were so appreciative. As we went through the week, God provided for us. We ate beans, rice and plantain (not so many beans as plantain). We had boiled plantain, mashed plantain, fried plantain... By the end of the week, I was so tired of plantain. But I also noticed that I wasn't particularly hungry. God provided everything I needed. That plantain was like the manna from heaven. It satisfied. And God was glorified through every meal. His joy was on the faces of the people serving us. His hope was in their hearts. He was very present.

God's Gracious Dealings is the subtitle in my Bible under Deuteronomy 8. Deuteronomy 8 is a chapter that describes God the Provider. He talks about the suffering of the Israelites--the hunger, the wandering. Scripture tells us, "He 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 on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD". It continues saying that He allowed these things to happen so that He might humble them and provide for them, "Otherwise, you may say in your heart 'My power and the strength of my hand made me this wealth.'" He humbled them, and He humbles us today so that we might seek Him, remember His promises, His provision, His faithfulness. He humbles us so that our major source of nourishment, and the most sustaining source, will be from His Word.

"Hungry, I come to You, for I know You satisfy. I am empty, but I know Your love does not run dry. So I wait for You. Broken, I run to You, for Your arms are open wide; I am weary, but I know Your touch restores my life. So I wait for You. I'm falling on my knees, offering all of me. Jesus, You're all this heart is living for."

We may not know physical hunger, but each of us has places in our lives where we are spiritually starved. As I sing this song, I use it as a song of confession. I focus on the areas of my life where I am spiritually starved--where I need what only God can provide. Sometimes it may be a particular circumstance. Sometimes it may be a behavior or an attitude that I want to change about myself. The point is that hunger leads to humility. Humility leads to surrender. Surrender leads to change. Change leads to growth. Growth leads to the pure joy of being in relationship with the Father.

So I wait for You, Lord.

Dear Father, Thank you for your provision in our lives. Thank you for how you take care of our every need. You tell us in your scripture that we don't have to worry because You will provide. Help me to stay humble enough to seek Your provision and not go out on my own. Help me to be hungry for You and for Your Word. Thank you for the promise that Your love will not run dry, but will sustain us through the very darkest and brightest of times. We wait for You.