Daily Jewel

by Pastor Carnell, McAlester, OK

“Let’s Eat!”

“The Lord does not let the righteous go hungry…” – Proverbs 10:3 (NIV)

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” – Matthew 6:25-26

“I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.” – Psalm 37:25

“Give us today, our daily bread…” – Matthew 6:11

Okay, it’s confession time. And be totally honest with yourself. Has there ever been a time in your life when you went hungry? I don’t mean having a growling stomach because you are slightly behind a few minutes or an hour or two from a meal. Nor am I referring to a time that you may have been on a self-imposed fast or (heaven-forbid) a diet. No, those do not qualify here. In fact, being on a diet probably means you have had more than you need in the first place. I know…I am probably in the same situation.
What I am referring to is the kind of hunger where you have absolutely nothing to eat. Nothing! No peanut butter. No Mac & cheese. No bread. Nothing. And the prospects of you having food in a couple of hours, or even the next day do not appear to be in your favor. That is hunger. And so I ask again—have you been there? If you have never known this kind of hunger there is probably a very good explanation behind that—as our Creator, God knows what our greatest basic “human” need is—food!
When He placed Adam and Eve in the Garden what did He surround them with? Trees filled with fruit. When the Hebrews wandered for 40 years, what did God provide for them six days of week? Bread! When Elijah, in obedience to God was forced to flee into the wilderness what did God provide for him twice a day? (1st Kings 12:16) When people from all over Galilee and Judea came to hear Jesus preach and teach, what was given to them to complete the day and give them strength for their journey home. Do I really need to give the answer here?
Take a quick look at the verses listed above and what do they all have in common? Actually, what two things do they have in common? First, they are all a promise! Each of them describe what God is willing to do. Give us what we need! What is the second thing they have in common? Each of them describe who He is willing to help. The faithful. The righteous. Those who are weak in resources but strong in faith!
Which leads me to another thought that has nothing to do with food—and everything to do with what makes life worth the living. Look closely at Jesus’ words in Matthew 6:25-26, and then his words from “The Lord’s Prayer.” This tells me that these passages has nothing to do with our physical needs (food/clothing) but more regarding a hunger that can only be filled in one way—the filling of God through His Holy Spirit.
There is a hunger that exists in every one of us—a hunger that is as vital to our souls as food is to our body. And since God created that too—He alone knows how to fill it. I am brought to these words of Jesus: "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.” (John 6:35) That, along with everything else these verses tell us, we never, never, never have to be hungry in Spirit! And if you are it is entirely self-imposed. When it comes to your spirit there is absolutely no need to go on a diet and you can never get enough of God.
You’ve been called to the table. Let’s eat!
Pastor J. T. Carnell