The Hunger Pains

The other morning I fasted from food because I was becoming aware of my growing selfishness and desire to satisfy my own wants.  God helped make me aware of the correlating growth of my spiritual hunger as I fed my fleshly nature more and more, putting my wants above his desires for my life.  (I say this because there are different reasons to fast and specifically this was my reason for the day) It is so cool the way God can use even the hunger cycles of our body to point us to who He is and the different aspects of our relationship with him. 

Lunch really satisfied my physical hunger, it was delicious- and I for some reason found it very strange as the evening approached that I found myself hungry again.  It was nothing different from my normal “hunger cycle” but for some reason it struck me as strange that after feeling SO satisfied at lunch, my stomach wanted to be fed again.  Reflecting back on the day, starting with my morning fast it hit me how strange it is that it is perfectly normal to feel and respond to my physical hunger multiple times a day- but how far removed I am from the pangs of my spiritual hunger and knowing how often to feed them during the day.  Just giving them a “breakfast-quiet-time” will not sustain my hunger for the day the same way just eating a big breakfast won’t fulfill your spiritual hunger throughout the day.

Spiritual hunger… maybe it manifests itself in different ways than our physical hunger- shortness of temper, harsh words, selfish thoughts? I need to be growing in my knowledge of my spiritual self and life- feeding it all day long as I do my physical self, so that I can recognize those “pangs” consciously so I can be feeding my spirit as I do my body.   “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers and spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” –Ephesians 6:12  my physical hunger is not nearly as important as my spiritual hunger- and yet I am much more in tune with it… Hmmmm.