FOOD FOR THE HUNGRY SOUL



Psalm 130:1-8
John 6:35, 41-51










Several years ago, the Eurythmics had a hit song called, “Sweet Dreams:”

Sweet dreams are made of this ... Everybody's looking for something.


Everybody's looking for something. It's part of the human condition, a craving of the soul, and there's only one answer for it.


What do you crave? Just talking about cravings makes me think about dark chocolate. A lot of my food cravings aren't neccesarily the healthiest choices I can make, and they're not really what I want and need. They're full of empty calories that give me a sugar high and leave me only wanting more. They may take the edge off my hunger, but they really don't satisfy it.

People crave a lot of things, not just food. Addicts crave the source of their addiction even after they have recovered. We crave attention, affection and acceptance. Others crave material wealth, power and achievement. For human beings, it seems that enough is never enough, and we just want more and more. All the things we crave don't really satisfy the hunger of our hearts and souls.

In Psalm 130, I hear the cry of a hungry soul.

Help, God—the bottom has fallen out of my life!
    Master, hear my cry for help!
Listen hard! Open your ears!
    Listen to my cries for mercy.
Psalm 130:1-2 (The Message)

This is a soul hungry for God, for His forgiveness and compassion.

Too often, human cravings mask what we're really hungry for: unconditional love and acceptance, healing of body and soul, forgiveness and fresh starts, purpose and a part of something bigger than ourselves. Unfortunately, we try to satisfy this hunger by chasing after the things of this world, but when we try to do this our way, on our own, we end up spiritually and emotionally starving.

But because God loves us too much to allow us to remain in such a state of deprevation, God offers us something better, something more satisfying than all our cravings – food for our hungry souls: Jesus.

Jesus says to us, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” (John 6:35, RSVP)

Jesus is food for our hungry souls. Things of this world don't last, we will always be hungry for more, running on empty. Christ offers us the bounty of God's grace that nourishes, strengthens and sustains us like nothing else we can give ourselves. It is everlasting, and with it comes salvation and eternal life. Even the manna that God provided the people of Isreal in the wilderness couldn't do that.

What are we hungry for, today? Is it forgiveness, unconditional love and acceptance, purpose, hope, healing, or being part of something that is greater than ourselves?

Jesus is the bread of life.

Where are those hunger pains coming from? A call to ask Jesus to be our Lord and Savior? A part of our life that we need to surrender to Christ? Are we hungering after a deeper relationship with God?

Jesus is the bread of life and food for the hungry soul. Only He can satisfy the hunger of our hearts and fill our emptiness.

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