How Hungry Are You?
“In those days, when again a great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat, he [Jesus] called his disciples to him and said to them, ‘I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way. And some of them have come from far away.’”
Of course, most of us are familiar with this story of how Jesus went on to miraculously feed the crowd of four thousand people with only seven loaves of bread and a few small fish (see vv. 4-9). In fact, this is the second time Jesus had performed a miracle in the feeding of quite a large crowd (see Mk 6:30-44). Many of us have read these passages a multitude of times and have heard sermons preached, and devotionals are written on them. They are an amazing testament to Jesus’ compassion as well as His power to perform miracles, and quite honestly, I never tire of reading them. I find that these passages tend to rekindle my faith and reassure me of the character of my Lord.
But recently, as I was reading the above passage in Mark 8, the Holy Spirit opened my eyes to something that had never jumped out to me before. I found myself dwelling on the first three verses (quoted above). These people had traveled far distances and had gone without eating for three days – just to see and hear Jesus. They might not have had a chance to talk with Him individually, yet they were willing to go hungry for three days just to hear Him. I found myself asking, “Would I do that?” I don’t know about you, but if I go more than about five or six hours without eating, I get pretty hungry (perhaps even a little cranky).
Then came the conviction. These people traveled many miles from their homes, presumably walking, for just a chance to hear Jesus speak. They ignored their hunger pangs – which would have been severe after three days of not eating – because they were convinced that hearing the Master speak was well worth it.
“Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.’”
Contrast that with our situation today. As believers, we have direct access to the King of Kings! He literally dwells within us and has given us His promised Holy Spirit to aid in our communication with Him. We don’t have to travel an inch to be with Him – He is always with us!
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.”
“In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.”
We can spend time with the Creator of the universe any time we want. The only cost to us is a little bit of our time. That’s it. Just time. We don’t have to starve for days, make an appointment for next week, or book a flight to the Holy Land. We just need to make ourselves available. But do we?
How often do I allow the “tyranny of the urgent” to get in the way of spending quiet time with my Savior? “Oh, I have to do this for work,” or “I need to run the kids to soccer practice,” or “I’ve really got to get that door latch fixed before we leave for work tomorrow.” It seems as though there is always something coming up that demands our immediate attention. And did you ever notice that these things seem to pop up just at the time we are actually about to have some “quiet time”? Coincidence? I think not.
But if I am honest with myself, it is not always an external influence getting in the way. Sometimes it is just me – selfish, lazy little ol’ me. “I’ve worked hard all day; I just want to chill for a while, maybe watch a little TV.” Maybe it’s binge-watching our favorite streaming series that gets in the way, or maybe it’s a hobby that becomes something of an idol to us and consumes any extra time we may have.
Sometimes it seems as though I treat God as some sort of meal delivery service. I know I need to pray, so I make an effort to quickly let Him know what I need for the day, not taking the time to enjoy His fellowship or to actually listen to what He may want to say to me. I give Him my list and expect Him to deliver. (Don’t want to dwell too long...He may actually ask me to do something!)
He has given us the greatest gift! We have direct access to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Let us not take this gift for granted. Let us make the most of this gift by setting aside some time each day to be with Him – to abide in Him. Maybe it means getting up a half hour earlier in the morning. Maybe it means saying “No” to some things. In the bigger picture, it really costs us very little.
Prayer
Father, help us to see the wondrous gift You have given us and appreciate it. You do have the words of life – help us to desire and cherish them. And may “the things of earth grow strangely dim, in the light of Your glory and grace.” Amen
“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”
