Are You Really Hungry?

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.  Matthew 5:6

 

In a trip to an Ohio camp meeting, Rich and I had opportunity to stop by one of our favorite state parks at Pymatuning, PA.  This area was the scene of many family camping trips and is filled with fond memories.  We visited the Espyville spillway and bought stale bread to feed to the fish.  If you visit the park, don’t miss this local wonder.

The spillway teems with fish waiting for tourists to throw bread down to them.  Ducks and seagulls float as close as they dare, hoping for handouts.  When bread hits the water, a feeding frenzy breaks out.  Ducks even dance precariously on the backs of the huge carp in order to snatch any stray crumbs.  Imagine being so hungry that you would trample on others to get just a bite of bread!

Wouldn’t it be great if we were that hungry for the Word of God?  To keep watch, eagerly awaiting Bible study and prayer time?  In Psalm 63:1, David writes of his longing for God while running from Saul in the wilderness:

O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.  Psalm 63:1

Now that’s a real hunger!  In his time of exile, David longed to be among the worshippers before the tabernacle in Jerusalem.  How blessed we are to live under the new covenant.  We have the completed Word of God right in our hands!  There are so many in the world still yearning for the Bread and Water that satisfies.  I’ve seen photos of crowds of people reaching up to a missionary handing out Bibles from the back of a truck.  Thanks be to God that the salvation He offers cuts across all cultural and language barriers:

Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.”  John 6:35

Although you may not know it, there are many around you who are thirsting for that which eternally satisfies.  May you slake your thirst in God’s Word daily in order to share it with others.

Love as always,  Elaine (feasting on the Word)