Are You Partaking of God’s Spiritual Food?

November 14, 2021

Are you partaking of God's spiritual food?

Are You Partaking of God’s Spiritual Food?

By Brooke Holt

“Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.” - Book of Common Prayer, The Collect for Year B, Proper 28

What do you hunger and thirst for these days? More importantly, where do you find nourishment for your body and soul? We were created with a hunger—a hunger for things physical and material as well as a hunger for things spiritual. Unfortunately, the world grooms us to constantly feed and gratify the physical hungers while ignoring the deeper spiritual hunger within each one of us.

Blaise Pascal so wisely wrote, “There is a God shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God, the Creator, made known through Jesus.” Every single person has this vacuum, this sense within them that something is missing; something is just not right in this world. Many seek to fill that vacuum through intimacy with human beings whether in marriage, friendship, or children. Others seek to fill the vacuum through their careers and climbing the corporate ladder. You know the many ways in which you have sought to fill this vacuum in your own life. For those who continue in this perpetual cycle with no sense of true fulfillment, there is often the desperate looking to alcohol or drugs as a means of temporary satisfaction or temporary relief from the ongoing sense of emptiness.

God’s Word teaches another way to fill this God shaped vacuum—the reading and digesting of his Holy Scriptures. Every word written in the sixty-six books of the Bible was written for your edification, nourishment, and instruction. Life, true life, is to be found in the Lord first. Then, every other good gift is from him, the Father of lights (James 1:17). Is this how you view God’s Word and how you approach the reading of that Word? Do you come with an expectant heart and mind, trusting that God will meet you in that reading and guide you through the power of the Holy Spirit? That Spirit will guide you so that you do not just read but that you are transformed by what you read.

Transformation within believers happens first when they turn to Jesus Christ as Savior. That transformation continues as they study the character of God revealed in his Word, as they seek to be conformed to the teaching of that Word, and as they continue to grow in grace, truth, and holiness through that study. God longs to meet with his people. He longs to breathe his everlasting life in you, to bring the blessed hope that comes from him alone, and to guide you in his perfect truth.

Are you partaking daily in this spiritual food, or are you looking to cheap counterfeits? God’s Word alone will satisfy the deepest hunger and thirst within you. God alone will fill that vacuum within your heart. May you seek him and find him today then be nourished by the richest of food ever made available in this world and the world to come.

Reflection:
How are you seeking nourishment for your body, mind, and soul? We would love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

Related Resource:

Jesus calls the Holy Spirit a "gift" who will guide us, lead us, and empower us. Yet many believers don't experience the power and presence of the Holy Spirit in their lives. This unique Christian small group Bible study provides a space in which we can explore what it truly means to "walk in the Spirit" on a daily basis. The Spirit-Filled Life small group curriculum centers on a 6-part video teaching series examining the life-giving and creative work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Begin to experience the gift today!