Hunger is an invitation from the Lord for more. An invitation to go deeper. It’s a call to go from where you are to get something you don’t have to fill something that’s empty inside of you.
Hunger is an invitation from God and He uses it to get you to turn to Him. He wants you to turn to Him.
It’s the same with our bodies. Natural hunger is a call from our stomach saying, “Hey! I’m empty. Please feed me!”
There are symptoms of hunger, like feeling an ache or feeling irritable. But if you let it go too long, it can cause other things like fatigue, tiredness, weakness, and dullness of mind. And it’s the same in the spirit, isn’t it?
Whether it’s natural or spiritual, hunger demands a response.
We’ve been trained to respond to natural hunger with eating, but our spiritual hunger usually stays unsatisfied because we either don’t recognize it or we don’t know what to do with it.
Did a thought about God cross your mind? That’s hunger. Turn aside. Respond to it. “Oh, hey God! I see you there!”
Are you agitated for no reason? That may be hunger…God trying to get your attention. Turn aside. Respond to it. “What’s up, God? There’ something agitating me deep inside and I’m not sure why. Any ideas?”
And then wait. Lean in. Linger for a minute in that moment. See if He responds. It may take a few times doing this to get a response back, but when you do, it just makes you hungry for more.
And the wonderful thing is you don’t have to be kneeling in a dark room all alone to respond. You can do this wherever you are. At work. In the car with your kids. On the mower. At the store. Over a sink full of dishes.
He is with you wherever you are, waiting for you to respond. And when you turn aside, He will always come closer.
“But what if I’m never hungry?”
Well…that’s a sign there’s something wrong somewhere and you can lean into that too. “Lord, I’m not feeling hungry. Ever. What’s up with that?”
Chances are, you’re filling up on things that have nothing to do with God, and it’s drowning out His voice. It’s filling up those places intended only for Him. You can eat cookies all day long. It’s not healthy. But you also won’t be hungry.
If you’re not hungry, it’s easy to make yourself hungry by just not eating anything for a while. Don’t worry. Your hunger will return.
Wherever you are, God has more for you, and He’s giving you the beautiful invitation of hunger. It’s His way of starting a conversation with you. Will you respond?