January 24
And he fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterward he was hungry. Matthew 4:2
Most of us really do not fully understand hunger. It is difficult to comprehend fasting for forty days and nights, when perhaps we have chosen to fast for a short period of time during Lent, or have had to fast for medical reasons, and we know how hard that can be. The gnawing in our stomachs, especially in the beginning does not feel good. How Jesus must have suffered through this! Fasting occasionally, for a day or two, is good for our health. It gives our bodies a chance to clear out, refresh and rebuild. To sacrifice as Jesus did is extraordinary. Living in our culture here in the United States, we are surrounded by food choices of all varieties or at the very least, images of it. Advertisements bombard us with the temptation of over indulgence constantly. It takes great discipline to refrain from partaking in all we would like to. Those of us that can afford to purchase the foods we want, do not know the meaning of the word hunger, in that sense. We know all too well though, that not all, even in our own neighborhoods, have the good fortune to be able to purchase the food necessary to maintain their health. It makes one think deeply about the obligation that is ours, to help those less fortunate, in some way; that we do whatever we can to contribute to our food pantries and charitable organizations, either with donations or time, etc.
With the hunger for food satiated, still we are left hungry. We possess a gnawing hunger that is sometimes indefinable, but ever present. There is hunger for so many things, for peace, for comfort, for love . . . . but what are we really looking for? We hunger for God. We hunger to know and find answers to the meaning of our lives: Why are we here? What is our purpose? What does God expect of us? In Scripture we find our answers. In Scripture we find this meaning and we find what our lives mean to Him! In Scripture we are reassured over and over again of God’s love and the everlasting life He has planned for us, a life He planned for us before we were even born! Our hunger will be satisfied when we truly believe this.
Dear Lord, thank you for the food you give us for our bodies and souls and spirits. Make us more aware of the hungering needs of others and may our actions help to feed them.
Prayer Requests:
Please pray for Lillian as she undergoes surgery.
Copyright© 2014 Kathleen A. Matson