Hungry for GodShembull

Our Need for Spiritual Food 

Our souls need spiritual food to thrive just as our bodies need food to survive. But there’s only one fuel source that can completely nourish, satisfy, empower, and sustain us: relationship with the living God. 

A significant aspect of natural hunger is the way it recurs regularly. Our bodies require nourishment and energy on a regular, ongoing basis. Just because you were hungry yesterday and ate a sumptuous meal that satisfied your appetite doesn’t mean that you’ll never hunger again. Your body digests the food you eat, transforms it into fuel for your body, eliminates what it does not need, and begins the cycle again. 

This repetitive cycle of hunger and satiation indeed seems intentional. When God provided manna for His people on their journey to the Promised Land, He gave them just enough for each day. When Jesus taught His followers how to pray, He instructed us to ask our Father to “give us this day our daily bread” (Matt. 6:11, NKJV). Christ Himself provided such a meal when He blessed the loaves and fishes from a boy’s lunch and multiplied them to feed more than five thousand people who came to hear His teaching (Matt. 14:13–21). 

Most of us no longer hunt and gather our food each day. Our work provides for more than just our daily bread. In developed nations in our modern world, many of us have full kitchen cupboards, pantries, fridges, and freezers filled with food that’s been preserved to extend its freshness. Some items such as dried beans, nuts, grains, and rice as well as canned goods are even considered to be “nonperishable” because they can be kept for months and years. 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many people stocked up because they feared stores and food producers might not have enough. Nonperishables were at a premium since no one knew how long the food supply might be interrupted. Unable to run to the store for desired ingredients or dine in our favorite restaurants, we made do with what we had on hand. Once again, many of us realized yet another luxury we had become accustomed to overlooking. 

When we consider our spiritual hunger, we recognize that our souls require nourishment on a regular basis as well. No matter how often we pray, how many Bible passages we study and memorize, how frequently we attend church events or serve those in need, there’s always room to grow closer to God. We could spend all day, every day praising and worshipping the Lord, and it would not be enough to fill our need for God’s presence in our lives.