What Satisfies Your Appetite?

A tantalizing aroma wafted from the kitchen into every corner of our home as the granola baked. A favorite, the recipe (which I have since misplaced) called for concentrated apple juice for a sweetener. This time I substituted concentrated pineapple juice. The sweet scent made me wild with a hunger I didn’t know I possessed.

Hunger. It’s not a sensation we enjoy. Whether it’s physical, emotional, or spiritual hunger, we seek to satisfy the ache.

Jesus talked about hunger—the kind sated with the food He gives, the food which lasts for eternity and which nourishes the spirit.

In fact, Jesus made an astonishing claim in John 6:35, “And Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes on Me shall never thirst.” (MKJV)

When I read that, I have questions. I see professing Christians (including myself!) engage in fruitless and even detrimental activities. It smells a lot like we are trying to satisfy an inner hunger, but we’re not coming to Jesus.

We lose ourselves in romance novels. We busy ourselves with shopping. We indulge ourselves in too much dessert or salty snacks. We maybe even cross the “line” and drink too many adult beverages and dabble in pornography or other sensual pastimes.

Regardless, if we are medicating an inner hunger that can and should be quenched by coming to Jesus (enjoying His presence, savoring His Word), aren’t we missing the boat?

But can we take words such as John 6:35, written 2,000 years ago, at their face value? Can we honestly believe that Jesus will remove the hunger that arises from boredom, or stress, or uncertainties, or burdens? Can John 6:35 really apply to us, today, in everyday, mundane moments?

For me, I must believe Jesus’ claim is true because I made the decision to trust Him. Then the question becomes, “How can I apply this truth, today, in everyday, mundane moments?”

I’m still learning, but I do know, when I take a verse, hold it my mind, examine the thoughts, compare it to other scriptures, and consider how it applies to my life, that my emptiness fades. Joy fills my spirit. Hunger leaves… for a time.

Perhaps Jesus is asking, where will we turn the next time our hunger is piqued? Just as I ate some of my sweet-smelling granola to satisfy the hunger its aroma created, will we turn to the One Who promises to satisfy our hunger? How do you find your hunger is appeased?