My favorite food has changed over the years. When I was younger it was definitely ribs. I still love ribs, I just can’t eat them too often. My teeth need a break, and so does my waist. If pressed, my answer now might be shrimp, but it’s too easy to get bad seafood in the middle of the desert. So for the last five years my response to “What’s your favorite food?” has been chips and salsa AND ranch. Go ahead, raise your eyebrows. But I dare you… mix the ranch and the salsa, dip your chip, and then get back to me. I love it. But this is also a very, very dangerous delicacy to love. I am notorious for eating multiple baskets of chips and salsa prior to the arrival of my meal at restaurants. By the time my food arrives I’ve filled up on carbs and don’t have room for any of the things my body actually needs. Tortilla chips may fill me up for a while, but they certainly won’t satisfy or sustain me for long.
I may have a new obsession. I loved falafel before Israel, but now I might be mildly addicted and on the hunt for a hole-in-the wall place to serve it up hot and fresh out of a FRYER. So not great for me. But soo good. Oh. My. Goodness. NOM. NOM. Darn you, fried chickpeas!
Isaiah 55:2 reads, “Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.”
I find it interesting that we are to LISTEN in order to eat what is good. That tells me that God’s Word is food for my hungering soul. My friend Lauren reminds me that God’s portion isn’t stingy! Forget the picture of stale bread and dirty water. Throw that image out of your mind. God’s Word is compared to good food and the richest of fare! It’s filling, pleasureful and overflowing. Why would a God who LOVES to give good gifts fill us with anything less?
“Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.” (Psalm 73:25-26, NIV)
This world is full of some amazing diversions, but we know in our hearts there must be more than simply drinking coffee and following celebrity gossip. Jesus said in John 10:10 He has come to bring the abundant life. We choose everyday whether we will fill up on carbs or make our way to the Banquet table that holds the real feast.
I want to feel the way about God’s Word that I do about food. I want to crave it, thirst for it, hunger after it. It’s not just satisfying… it’s so good for me.
I’m so thankful He loves to answer this prayer: Lord, let me love your Word. If your appetite still hasn’t been wet by the Word, can I challenge and invite you to join me and pray this prayer today?
Hungry,
Ginger
