Hungry For God

I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

“I’m hungry!”

The number of times I hear this phrase from my children each day feels like seventy billion (an exaggeration, but only a slight one!). They are fully cognizant of their rumbling bellies, and they come to me, their mom, for nourishment. If I were to give them a piece of cotton candy each time they approached me, they might be delighted at first, but they’d eventually end up feeling sick and longing for a satisfying meal. However, if I give them a plate of food with protein and the nutrients their bodies need, they will grow and feel healthy.

In our spiritual lives, our hunger can only be satisfied by the filling meat of God’s Word. Our spiritual hunger is both satiated and heightened by a steady intake of God’s Word. As we grow in our faith, so does our love of and our longing for Scripture.

King David experienced ravenous hunger and thirst while in the wilderness. He began Psalm 63 by describing a similar spiritual longing: “O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water” (verse 1). David likened his rumbling stomach and his parched mouth to a longing for God. His plea wasn’t for a steak dinner or a delicious dessert; it was for the satisfying presence of God. He declared, “My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips” (verse 5).

Hunger is a great soul revealer. When David was hungry and thirsty, his deepest desire was uncovered: he wanted God alone.

Time for a confession: if I skip a meal, I become “hangry”—not the type of person you want to be around. My judgment becomes impaired, and my willingness to stand my ground dissolves under the grumbling of my stomach. The same is often true when I skip spending time with God or taking time to nourish my soul in his presence.

Jesus faced hunger in the wilderness too. He went forty days and forty nights with no food or water (see Matthew 4:1-11). The Maker of the desert was hungry in the desert. The devil tempted Jesus three times, and three times Jesus responded the exact same way: with the tested, true Word of God. The devil couldn’t stand against the Scriptures, and he eventually departed from Jesus.

Just as the desert revealed David’s longing for God, the desert is where Jesus, God’s Son, declared that humans do not live by bread alone but by every word of God. Jesus endured deserts, faced hunger and thirst, and conquered temptation to give us hope in our own wastelands.

Because of Christ, we can join David and pray, “Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you” (Psalm 63:3).

Word before World What we hunger for is revealed in hardship. When we hunger for God, our souls will be truly satisfied.

Grow in Grace What does your soul crave in times of emotional or spiritual hunger? What would it look like to feed your craving for more of Jesus? Read Psalm 63 and write verse 3 in a place you’ll see it often.