I'm hungry as I write this post, and there are some double-stuffed Oreos in my pantry calling my name. This is my husband's fault for bringing those blasted things into the house, and he knows better! I've been trying to make healthier choices when it comes to food and lose a little weight to boot. So far, so good. But when my stomach starts feeling a little empty, those hunger pangs are prone to drive me to places I know better than to visit..e.g. the freezer, the pantry, the fridge, Sonic.
Turns out our hungry souls have similar capacity to drive us. Today I read in Proverbs 27:7-8:
A satisfied soul loathes the honeycomb,
But to a hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.
Like a bird that wanders from her nest,
So is a man who wanders from his home.
Bottom line? When our souls are satisfied with the goodness of God's living bread -- His Word confirmed through His Son -- we don't even desire the sweet things of this world. We may eat our share of them, especially if they're not inherently bad for us -- things like relationships, travel, food, hobbies, etc. But we don't crave them. We're not enamored with them and driven to try to gain soul satisfaction from them. On the other hand, when our souls are left hungry and wanting because we're not daily eating God's Word, then even the "bitter things" seem sweet and appealing to us -- things like gambling, charging up our credit cards, unhealthy and unwholesome relationships, smoking, drugs, etc.
God made us with hungry souls so that they would drive us to Him. Like a baby bird that depends upon its mother to bring food to the nest and feed it, we are supposed to wait expectantly upon God to feed our hungry souls. And when we allow Him to satisfy our souls completely instead of running off to other sources of satisfaction, we grow in our relationship with Him, depending on Him and loving Him more every day.
On the other hand, what if that baby bird become impatient or entranced with the possibilities beyond the safety of its nest? What if that baby bird wanders off from the nest in search of its own sustenance? What happens then?
This past week in Bible study I read the book Are You My Mother? to my class. It perfectly illustrates the dangers we sometimes encounter when we, like the baby bird, leave our nest and go searching for satisfaction elsewhere. For heaven's sake, you could encounter a Snort!
I don't know about you, but sometimes I read scripture like Proverbs 27:7-8 and think they are trivial, humorous, and less important than others. But in actuality, these two little picturesque verses pack a powerful punch about human nature. They also present a fair and heed-worthy warning about the lengths to which our hungry souls will drive us if we don't satisfy them correctly.
Where has your hungry soul led you recently? What has it driven you to latch onto, abandon, compromise, miss out on, forsake, or consume? Has your hungry soul ever driven you into the arms of someone who is not good for you? Has it pushed you into a pit of addiction? Has it tipped you away from your moral compass and driven you into a strange land?
It can, you know. A hungry soul is a powerful thing.
So I encourage you to feed that hungry soul. But feed it the Bread of Life, Jesus Christ. Feed it with God's daily bread, the Word of God. Feed it regularly and with bounty. And, because you're full and satisfied with the good stuff of God, you won't be prone to wander or settle for the bitter things.
Now, I'm going to go get myself an apple so I won't be prone to reach for the blasted Oreos!
Labels: A Taste of Satisfaction, Satisfied at Last, Walk Through the Bible
