The appetite of laborers works for them; their hunger drives them on. (Proverbs 16:26, NIV)
I do not like to feel hungry. My friends laugh at me because I always have snacks tucked away in my luggage when I travel or in my golf bag when playing golf. Lewis Greer, the Links Players Arizona region director, has nicknamed me “hobbit” because he believes I eat all the time. While his assessment is a bit skewed, I often avoid hunger pangs by eating well before they arrive.
Hunger is defined by Dictionary.com as “a feeling of discomfort or weakness caused by lack of food, coupled with the desire to eat or have a strong desire or craving for.” We all have felt our stomach rumble, but very few of us have ever felt the darkness of starvation.
Nutrition that truly satisfies our souls and offers life comes in perfect portions and at just the right time.We are created to seek sustenance when we feel physical hunger, but with a high availability of fast food and oversized meals we seldom actually feel hungry. We eat out of habit, convenient, boredom, to numb emotional pain, to satisfy cravings. Food also hijacks a high percentage of our conversations and daily decisions. I am guilty of all of the above.
I often say that I run so that I can eat. While this is relevant the older I get, I have become more mindful to when and what I eat. I still enjoy my chocolate chip cookie fetish (and frozen yogurt shops with the Links Players staff), but I am working on allowing myself to feel the discomfort of hunger. It’s not easy, but my relationship with my hunger is maturing.
The spiritual discipline of fasting proposes that physical hunger deepens our awareness of our spiritual hunger. The writer of Proverbs said that hunger is a good thing because it drives a person toward something. It’s important to know what that something is. Our hunger can lead to life or it can lead to death. The evil one wants us to settle for the quick comforts of the world to appease our hunger, but this is counterfeit nourishment. Nutrition that truly satisfies our souls and offers life comes in perfect portions and at just the right time. The giver of this food is Jesus.
Since I am not good at long periods of fasting, I have started using intermittent fasting (usually during the morning hours) a couple times a week to increase my sensitivity to physical hunger. As my awareness of my physical hunger increases, so does my spiritual hunger. My budding spiritual hunger is driving me into God’s Word and his love. And my appetite is craving more and more of Jesus.
Are you hungry? Eat, drink, and be satisfied—and may Jesus be the One you are driven toward.
—
Tracy Hanson
September 13, 2018
Copyright 2018 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.