Hunger

The power of hunger (spiritual hunger)

Seeing the above picture, the first thing that came to my mind was hunger probably because I like food a lot and I have had a number of 'hungry experiences' which I would be sharing.
There is something about hunger that i am yet to grasp but I know hunger is very powerful.

On one Thursday during my service year, I was desperately hungry. I had eaten only noodles the previous day (Wednesday) so the hunger was just too great. Our assistant LGI at the local government had her birthday that week so she decided to share biscuits to celebrate. I had never eaten that biscuit before and didn't know how it would taste, so i decided not to eat the biscuit. I just kept it in my bag (I guess the hunger wasn't that great yet). Around 5 pm I couldn't hold it any longer, I had to eat something. So I decided to eat the biscuit. And guess what?

The biscuit tasted so divine. It was indeed a pleasure to my hungry body. I munched it with so much happiness and joy. I can't explain it, it just tasted so right. Fast forward to Friday, (That is, a day after that my hungry Thursday), my sister Princess gave me her own biscuit. It was the same biscuit. This time I wasn't hungry, I had eaten earlier. I was only seeing a movie and needed something to chew. And this time, I didn't enjoy the biscuit. The same biscuit I ate with so much passion, that tasted so delicious in my mouth the previous day, didn't taste 'sooo' good the next day. You know, it was just 'there'.
I was about to complain about how distasteful the biscuit tasted when the flashback of me telling my friend Rukky about how delicious the biscuit was on Thursday came to my memory. I just kept quiet and laughed to myself. I laughed at the power hunger had.

Recently at work, a colleague of mine bought rice in the morning but she kept complaining about the rice and about how she couldn't eat it. Towards the close of work, she became hungry and ate the same rice she had earlier claimed wasn't delicious enough. Again, I laughed at the power hunger has.

Whenever my mom cooked a particular meal and I complain about not wanting it but wanting something else and not eating, the only thing she would say is "Ebi o ti pa e ni" (meaning I wasn't hungry yet).

There's a way we eat when we are hungry. We can never compare the way we eat when we are really hungry with the way we eat when we are not hungry. There's just this indescribable satisfaction that comes along with hunger.

There was also a day that I was hungry again (as usual bah?) I tasted raw oats and I said "So this thing is sweet like this sef, I never knew" my friend Rukky replied by saying, "You must really be hungry"😄🤣🤣

I don't know the perspective you have about hunger but all I wanna do is point our attention to the importance of hunger. It's importance cannot be overemphasized. And believe me, hunger is needed for our spiritual journey. Little wonder the Bible says blessed are the hungry for they shall be satisfied. Hunger is an escort to deeper things in God. It is a key to the secret of the heart of God.

Show me a man that is hungry for God and I would show you a man whose soul is crying; a man who can do anything for God .
We want to be empowered, we want to do big and great things for God but we are not hungry for Him. That's not possible because it all starts with hunger.

The same way we eat very well whenever we are hungry is the same way we need to be hungry spiritually so we can eat well. There is always this great satisfaction that only hunger can bring. The food might not taste well if you are not hungry. You might only eat very little if you are not hungry. In fact, you may not want to eat at all if you are not hungry. And even if you do, you won't enjoy the food. That's how important hunger is.

If you are a medical person or caregiver, you'd understand that hunger is important. Some elderly people get close to the end of their lives because they lost their appetite. Most times, it is when a man is sick or ill that such loses appetite and is usually unable to eat. That is normally a cause of concern. Spiritually too, any man that doesn't hunger and thirst for God, for righteousness, is sick. This is because hunger would cause us to seek the Lord and that is exactly what our soul needs.
How deep is your hunger for God? Irrespective of how deep you think (feel or know) you have gone with God, you could be more only if you are not satisfied with the status quo. There's more.
Funnily enough, no matter how great our hunger for Him is, His desire (hunger) for us is greater. Much more greater.

I have watched a number of American movies where a child would want to take ice cream or junk but the parents would be against it saying it would ruin the child's' dinner. This is because the parents want the child to come hungry for dinner and be able to eat the nutritious food that has been prepared. Also, as Christians, we have to avoid junk foods. We have to avoid "junks" that won't allow us eat the sumptuous meal that God has prepared for us.

If you don't have hunger or desire for Him, pray to Him about it. He is a God that keeps His own part and still helps us to keep our part.

Psalm 42:1-2 says "As the deer pants for the streams of water, so my soul pants for you O God. My soul thirst for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?"
That our souls would constantly pant after Him, that you and I would be burning with desire for Jesus. That our hearts would continually hunger for His presence.
Matthew 5:6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.

Shalom

Feel free to drop your "hunger experience" if you have any. Stay blessed!!