Do you ever wake up in the middle of the night thinking? Thinking about that task you weren’t able to complete the day before or all the things that you need to accomplish in the next? Are you ever not able to stop the wheels from turning inside your head? The train of thought just won't put on the breaks and let you rest? There are many nights like this for me. I don't sleep well. Nighttime can be as stressful for me as the day. I could sleep for six hours or I could end up with only 2. This past Saturday, I woke up before 5 AM and was not able to fall asleep again. The week had already been long and I had been hoping to sleep in until at least seven! Maybe I could have gone back to sleep, but God had a reason for waking me up that early. I woke up hungry. Now, for some of you that may seem random and could be an ordinary thing, but for me, at least for the past four or five months, I have not really been hungry. I don’t have as much of an appetite as I used to. In fact, for a week or two back in December, I ate only enough to say I had eaten something. I believe I was so exhausted from lack of sleep that I simply wasn't hungry. Actually, no, I take that back. I was hungry- just not for physical food. I was hungry for knowledge, for Biblical wisdom. I had so many questions and I wanted answers! In that time, while I was not eating much physically, I was "gaining weight" spiritually. We find in the Bible, John chapter 6, that Jesus Himself talks about both physical and spiritual hunger. Jesus had fed the 5,000 with only five loaves of bread and two small fish and later walked on water. Soon after He was once again surrounded by the crowds in Capernaum. They conversed with Him, asking what sign He would give them so that they would believe Him. Those in the crowds talked of Moses and the Israelites in the Wilderness where they were given manna to eat. It is in verses 32 and 33 that we hear Jesus’ answer, “Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” The people respond asking Jesus to always give them that bread. Verse 35 continues, “And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.” I don’t see how He could have stated it any more clearly for them! It wasn’t just in Biblical times that hunger was an issue. According to worldhunger.org, in 2015 “almost all the hungry people, 780 million, live in developing countries, representing 12.9 percent, or one in eight, of the population of developing countries. There are 11 million people undernourished in developed countries...” (To donate or find out more, visit http://www.actionagainsthunger.org) How privileged we are! Rather than it being a rare occasion to have a meal each day, for many of us, it is a rare occasion when we don't enjoy one. It is so sad and depressing; we search the cabinets for a "yummy" snack, yet others sit in the streets begging for a small crumb to lessen the pain of the empty cave in their stomach. They would do anything, eat anything, just to weaken the hurt. The hunger. The starvation. There are so many around you and I who are physically starving! But, oh, how much more do our souls need to be fed! It is at the moment of physical hunger that creates a yearning in my soul for the lost to be saved. Jesus offers that food. The necessary nutrition for your soul! We are told four times in John 6 that Jesus calls Himself the “Bread of Life.” And there are other statements that Jesus makes to help us see Who He is! (I just love the “I Am” statements from Jesus!)
So many in the world are hungry. Yet, they don't know what they are truly hungry for! Jesus has the ability to sustain life, not only physically, but spiritually as well. As Christians, we are called to go and tell others about Jesus- the true Bread of Life. What are you doing to feed the hungry souls around you? Are you hungry today? Jesus offers food for you- you only need to accept it. Keep Smiling Every Day! :) {Never Miss a Post! Click here to subscribe and get my posts in your inbox!}
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AuthorGod has given me a love for people and a passion to write. I love that the sky shows the creativity of our loving Maker, don't you? I hope you will join me on this journey through life exploring the beautiful creation God has made and the lessons that He is teaching me through it all. Categories
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