Food for Our Longings
When I was in high school and college, a godly minister served my home church. At the time—a half century ago—he was a young father with a sweet wife and four daughters. I wrote about his wife several weeks ago after she told me about her Hinkle “survivor chair.” I called her Margaret.
Through my Aunt Dot, Margaret and I reconnected a couple of years ago. The last time I got to see her in person was at my mother’s funeral visitation in February 2020. We stay connected now through email, her daily devotionals, and these Daily Encouragement posts.
I have been gratified by the many positive responses to Wednesday’s post, “No Matter What the Memes Say,” about the current wine culture, which I see as potentially so dangerous to mamas. Yesterday morning Margaret sent me a response. Because I cherish this godly woman’s advice, I wanted to share it with you. She said:
“Absolutely on point! Of course, the need is for spiritual food in a ‘quiet place,’
however brief, every day.”
We all have longings. Sometimes we are tempted to satisfy our longings in destructive ways, sometimes physically destructive and sometimes spiritually destructive. The apostle Peter encouraged Christians to long for the pure milk of the word:
Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit
and hypocrisy and envy and all slander,
and like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word,
so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation,
if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.
1 Peter 2:1-2
When Satan tempted Jesus to satisfy His hunger for food, Jesus:
. . . answered and said,
“It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes out of the mouth of God.’”
Matthew 4:4
In this season, we are remembering the beautiful way that Jesus came to earth. This photo shows one way that the people of Nashville, Tennessee, remembered Jesus’ birth half a century ago. My mother and my brother, Steve, stand in front of the beautiful Nativity scene that the Harvey’s department store displayed each year in Centennial Park. Families gathered at the site in the evenings to view the display and listen to Christmas music.
During Jesus ministry, He miraculously fed 5,000. In John 6, we learn that, on the next day, a crowd got into small boats and sailed to Capernaum, looking for Him. Jesus told them that the reason they were seeking Him was because that ate some of the loaves and were filled. He told them:
Do not work for the food that perishes,
but for the food that lasts for eternal life,
which the Son of Man will give you,
for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.”
John 6:27
The people reminded Jesus that their forefathers ate manna in the wilderness. Jesus’ reply assures us that He is the One Who fills our longings.
Jesus then said to them,
“Truly, truly, I say to you,
it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven,
but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven.
For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven
and gives life to the world.”
Then they said to Him, “Lord, always give us this bread.”
Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life;
the one who comes to Me will not be hungry,
and the one who believes in Me will never be thirsty.
John 6:32-35
