He Had Breakfast Waiting


I woke up starving this morning. I've been trying to lose a little weight and because I ate a big lunch yesterday I didn't let myself eat much for dinner last night. So when I awoke, I was famished.

I've always been a big breakfast eater, but in recent months I've kind of lost my appetite in the mornings. Whereas I used to awaken and immediately begin thinking about what I'd eat for my morning meal, suddenly nothing sounded appetizing. Still I would eat because I knew breakfast is important. (My mother taught me well.)

But this morning I woke up hungry. And it felt good to have an appetite in the morning again.

But I also woke up hungry in my soul.

I've had some difficult days recently, nothing worth anyone fretting over, but enough to cause me to lose sleep and ache all over. That's how I tend to handle stress.

So this morning when I got out of bed, I was starving not just in my stomach, but in my soul.

In the past, this soul hunger has sent me looking for all sorts of "junk food" to quickly satisfy my needs. I've over eaten, over exercised, overly latched on to other people, and over demanded from my husband. I've worked hard, charged up my credit card, read romance novels insatiably, and engulfed myself in meaningless television shows -- all in a desperate desire to satisfy my hungry soul.

But I know better now.

I know that God alone can satisfy my hungry soul. And I also have learned to go to Him first with my hungers rather than turning to Him as a last resort.

This morning I desperately needed a word from the Lord. I needed for Him to feed my aching soul something soothing, meaty, and substantial. I needed comfort food, but I needed it to come from the King's table instead of a can of Campbell's soup or Kraft macaroni and cheese. I needed something that would stick to the ribs of my soul and carry me through the day, but I didn't want something unhealthy, addicting, or dangerous.

So I went to God in prayer and begged Him to feed me. I told Him I desperately needed a word from His Word.

But I also know that, in my starving state, I risked taking something from His Word greedily and misapplying it to my hunger-inducing situations. I didn't want to do that. That would be akin to gobbling down a banana without peeling it first. Or slurping down an egg without cooking it. God's Word is good for nourishing our soul, but I don't want to mishandle it in my eagerness to satisfy my flesh. I want to allow God to serve me appropriate portions that satisfy my soul.

And He did.

Praise God on high from here below! He doled out spoonful after spoonful of deliciously satisfying portions of His Word into my hungry soul. He fed me from the Bread of Life and nourished me for the day ahead.

I wrote several of these delicious scriptures in my Scripture Meditation and Memorization album and I will eat on them for several days, at least. I'll chew away like a cow chewing on its cud, and it will go down deep into my soul and take root. It will feed me today and for days to come.

God is so good to feed this hungry woman today. He can feed you too. Just ask. It's worth it dear friend. So worth it.

I won't expound on any particular scriptures from my reading today. To be real honest, it was all a little too personal. An intimate breakfast for two, if you will. But I'll tell you where He had me reading today.

Numbers 11:1-12:16
Psalm 31:11-18
Proverbs 11:12-14
Mark 10:1-31

One more thing. I just want to give a shout out for reading the Bible systematically. Folks, today was one of those days when, if I hadn't been reading the Bible through, I would have been tempted to hunt and search for specific types of scriptures to speak to me, to soothe me. In doing so I would probably have taken some verses out of context and used them inappropriately in order to feed my flesh. I just know that's my temptation. But because I was reading the Bible through, I simply ate what God had ordained for me to read today, March 7, 2011. I still had to be careful to eat His Word correctly, but I know I didn't just "raid the fridge" so to speak. He served me.

He had breakfast waiting.