It's Okay to Be Hungry

     Like most of Western Civilization, I am always conscious of my weight issues and every now and then, I actually try to do something about it.  When my doctor told me to lose 20 pounds before my next check-up, I decided to set that as a goal, so I joined a Facebook support group that was discussing the same diet program that I was trying.

     One day, a new member posted that she was worried she wasn’t going to be able to be successful because she was already so hungry on Day One.  One of the other members, Spencer Sloan, posted this comment to her post:

“We have to realize it’s okay to feel hungry.  People for thousands of years felt hunger, pain, cold, sadness and were fine.  In our culture today we want to always feel comfortable. Eat when hungry, pill when pain, always warm, etc.  It’s okay to be hungry.”

     The moment I read that comment, I felt an immediate leap in my spirit.  God used Spencer’s thought to teach me something rather simple, yet profound.  In the last few months, I had been feeling “spiritually frustrated” – thinking that I should be further along in my spiritual maturity by now, closer to God, more knowledgeable in the Word, stronger in prayer, and more effective in ministry.

     What I understood in that moment was that “spiritually frustrated” translated to “hungry”.  When Spencer said that it was okay to be hungry, I realized that it was okay to be spiritually hungry as well.  When we are physically hungry, we spend time finding something to fill us up.  We gather the ingredients for that meal and we spend time putting those elements together to create something delicious and satisfying.  Hunger drives us to seek what we need and to labor to put it into a form that we can consume and use, not only to soothe the pangs of that hunger, but also to nourish our bodies and please our palates.

     Spiritual hunger compels us to seek the presence of God and use the ingredients of prayer, Bible study, praise, worship and gathering with other believers to satisfy that longing inside us.  Not only is that initial hunger satisfied, but we are given the spiritual nutrition that helps us to grow and have the joy that our spiritual appetite can enjoy.

     Hours after we eat, physical hunger returns   After a while, so does spiritual hunger. If we get spiritually “comfortable” and don’t experience that hunger, we’ll stop seeking all those things which God desires us to pursue.

     So, I am continuing the new eating plan and losing weight.  Some days, I am hungry, but when those hunger pains hit, I’m just reminded to go after God with all that I have within me and I remember that it’s ok to be hungry.