Satisfying the Hunger in Our Souls

 "He who comes to me and eats the bread of life will never hunger again." John 6:35 

It's persistent, it never is satiated, it leaves you wanting more. It is the insatiable sensation of a person hungering for something that satisfies. It seems this is the type of world we live in. A constant desire for more, to fill in the void that says that something needs to fill it. That something needs to satisfy the hunger in the soul. 

There are times when I have so much worry and anxiety that I'm looking for something to pacify that discomfort. It's like I'm hungering and grasping for something to settle me down. I remember the first time I was conscious of this experience. It was a few months after of having my first smartphone. I was walking down the hallway and I thought of something that triggered a set of emotional and physical reactions. I instinctively grabbed my phone to randomly search. That moment I realized, I was using my phone as a crutch. That was 2012. I now know much more than I knew back then about how technology works.  

Tech giants, know exactly how to manipulate the natural human process of how dopamine and the brain reward system works to hook you to the media, leaving you wanting more. That is another fascinating topic that I won't get into. The point is, we have all felt at one point or another the drive to satisfy a hunger that just does not feel satisfied. 

For some, that experience is infrequent and minor, perhaps when one notices how delicious a favorite dish is and it's hard to say, it's enough. For others it is often major things, such as person who feels they need more love, more money, more accolades, more outward signs of self-worth. Their hunger is never satisfied. 

But it doesn't have to be this way. Jesus says, that whoever comes to Him and eats the bread of life will never hunger again. I want to be content, I want to be satisfied. What does it take? And what does it feel like to be so completely content in Jesus? 

When I meditate on God's word in the morning, it satisfies my soul. There is a lightness, a freedom from burden, worry, or care. There is a satisfaction that says, "In Christ, I have all that I need." There is no where else to obtain this freedom. I don't do anything spectacular, but simply receive. And this is the key of why we don't have to hunger. It's because I do not have to strive to obtain something that will bring me peace. I just say yes. I open my heart, I receive it. The posture is one of receiving and not to keep striving and chasing after peace or a satiation of spiritual hunger.  

Dear Lord, I pray that our children would learn this truth. That only Jesus can satisfy. That only partaking His bread and receiving His life into our lives can we find true satisfaction. Thank you for satisfying the hunger in my soul. I trust that you will do the same for my children.