11 August | Youth
«Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord God, “That I will send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord.» Amos 8:11
There is a lack of hunger in our worship today. Hunger for God. Many attend worship without an appetite. May God have mercy on our “full bellies”! Worse than hunger is the lack of appetite, as it kills faster than hunger. God’s people have been without spiritual appetite lately. Some look at the things of God and say, “How tired it makes us!” (Mal. 1:13). They have no joy in the Word. They do not tremble before it. They are not in a hurry to pray. There is no hunger for God!
Many go to church but have no expectation of meeting God. People have become accustomed to the sacred. Some deal with spiritual matters with indifference. Others believe in a Jesus so gentle, so tender and compassionate — as He is — that they sometimes lose sight of the fact that He is the Almighty.
To be hungry for God is to go to church to enjoy any crumb that falls from the Father’s table. To be hungry for God is to have a heart full of devotion. In the sanctuary, they had showbread (Num. 4:7; Lev. 24:8). This was a symbol of God’s presence, a constant testimony that Israel depended on the Lord for sustenance.
Nothing can fully satisfy us. Only God. People are desperately looking for somewhere to find bread, satisfy their hunger, satisfy their deep needs. However, apart from God, this is impossible. Are you hungry for God? Have you cried out like Moses: “Please, show me Your glory” (Exod. 33:18)?
The figure of bread is a reminder that God’s table is set. Everything has already been prepared. You are the guest. Come closer, eat, and drink for free. At God’s table, there is plenty of bread. But what is the point of having a full table if we are not hungry? It does not matter the size of your church; it does not matter who the preacher is. If you go to worship hungry for the Most High, you will be fed. Those hungry for God will not be disappointed.