Don't eat that now, you'll spoil your appetite!"
I think we have all heard that before, especially around the holidays.
Cookies and candies are all around us, while some amazing meal is being prepared all day long. Our stomach growls and we want to eat something, now.
If we don't heed the warning, we will eat whatever we can get our hands on. Ever notice that? Something that doesn't look very appetizing when you are full is irresistible when you are hungry.
Gas stations and convenience stores count on this. That's why they can charge almost two dollars for a single candy bar.
The problem is, when we give into the hunger and do not wait for the meal, we do indeed spoil our appetite.
The same can be said for our hunger for the presence of God.
We are suddenly aware that something is missing, we are restless and distracted. Because we are accustomed to feeding that inner hunger with anything we can get our hands on, we don't stay in the hunger for very long. We look to be satisfied with whatever is easy and convenient. Sometimes it is something as "harmless" as binge-watching a TV show. Sometimes it's food. Sometimes it is something we'd rather not admit to.
But what would happen if, at those moments, we stayed in the hunger? If we looked to the Lord and asked him to fill that inner desire? What if we chose to stay hungry rather than satisfy our desire with anything but the Lord?
David used to exhort himself. He would tell his soul what to do at times like these. Listen to what he says to his soul in Psalm 103.
"Praise the Lord, my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the Lord, my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's." Psalm 103:1-5 (NIV, emphasis mine)
The hunger will come, and it is a hunger for the Lord. Nothing else can satisfy that desire within. Any cheap substitute can dull the hunger, but it will not nourish our soul.
As the psalmist said,
"Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever." Psalm 73:25-26
