A Satisfying Hunger

A Satisfying Hunger

Bible Blast: Read Psalm 145:8-21

Satisfy us each morning with your unfailing love, so we may sing for joy to the end of our lives. Psalm 90:14

They don’t have a lot of delicious food in Zambia. What they do have is a lot of nshima. To make nshima, the Zambians dry out big ears of corn and then smash the kernels into a dry powder. They put some of this powder into boiling water until it becomes a pasty, white substance, which is bland and not very satisfying.

On one of my trips, I’d had nshima for fourteen days straight! I was so tired of it, I just wanted to be home where I could eat meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and blueberry muffins! That’s what I craved. Instead, I was boarding a tiny missionary plane to go out into the African bush to help some missionaries train nursing students. When I got there, missionary Sherri Letchford took me directly into her home. You won’t believe this, but I thought for sure I smelled meatloaf! “Wow! Sherri, it smells so nice in here. I feel like I’m home,” I said, not daring to ask if it was meatloaf I was actually smelling.

“I thought some American comfort food might be just what you needed after two weeks in Zambia,” she said. “I made meatloaf balls, mashed potatoes, and mango muffins for you.” No food has ever satisfied me like Sherri’s simple feast of love! (I’ve included her mango muffin recipe in our Wacky Appendix. You’ll love ’em!)

Sometimes when I feast on God’s Word, it’s just good and nutritious. But other times, it is like that feast with Sherri: out-of-this-world amazing and delicious because it is just what I needed! These are moments when I can really feel God’s presence and he meets the needs of my heart in powerful ways. During these times, I just want to jump around and shout, “I’m so full of Jesus! Yahoooooo!”

Psalm 34:8 says, “Taste and see that the LORD is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him.” Make sure that you have a lot of wonderful, satisfying times with God to “feast” on his Word and his presence.

Girl Gab: Talk about this question together: How can you “feast” on God? Add the ingredients for Sherri’s amazing mango muffins to your shopping list. And think about this: Sherri has to go pick her own mangos because she can’t go to the grocery store, and her flour has to be shipped from Americans who love her enough to send her care packages. Finally, if she wants butter for those muffins . . . you guessed it, she has to make it!