Hunger

by: Adam Stout

My friend asked me to “fish-sit” her pet fish named Savvy. When I arrived it appeared Savvy was sleeping at the bottom of the bowl, nearly motionless, her red and purple tail waving gently. I dropped a few pellets of fish food in the bowl. Suddenly she jolted to life, swam to the surface, and gobbled the pellets as if they were the last morsels of food on earth. The tenacity with which Savvy attacked her food made me think about stories of extreme hunger, where people or animals realize that food is not a luxury but a necessity.

Today’s scripture says that God let the Israelites hunger so they would feel their need for him. And for millennia, religious people have sought to recognize their dependence on God by fasting. Ask yourself, “When was the last time I felt hungry for the Word of God?” When our physical needs (and many of our wants) are met, it is easy to forget that our very existence comes from the mouth of the Lord. May we remember every day our deep hunger for the Lord and his Word. Unless we are filled with God, we can never be truly satisfied.