Full or Hungry?

Today’s Verse:

The full soul loatheth an honeycomb; but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet. ~Proverbs 27:7

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I have a very high metabolism. In addition to enjoying eating well at each meal, I also tend to get hungry again in a short period of time. Sometimes, my wife will react by saying, “You just ate a big meal: how could you be hungry so quickly?” On the other hand, some people can be full for a long period of time from eating, and the very thought of food is unwanted. Having no appetite is a sign of sickness. Our devotion this morning is about our spiritual appetite. It is about the sickness of complacency and the importance of having a desire for spiritual things.

We see the contrast.

The full soul is someone who has attained spiritual complacency. He has no desire for spiritual things. He despises even a honeycomb, which is eaten to stimulate or satisfy one’s appetite. The hungry soul, on the other hand, considers even something bitter as appetizing. The full soul is a Laodicean believer who is rich, increased with goods, and having no need of anything. However, he is poor, wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked. The hungry soul depicts a spiritual life that desires the things of God, even when the experience is bitter. The preferable condition is the one that is hungry.

We see the crisis.

The state of complacency is dangerous. It masks the fact that there is something spiritually unhealthy about us. A loss of desire or appetite masks the fact that we are not growing. It hides the fact that there is underlying sin that has taken up space in our lives. It shows that worldliness has overcome us. Thus, spiritual things are despised. We do not want to pray. We find reading the Bible non-enriching. We become withdrawn to church attendance and fellowship. We want nothing to do with spiritual activities. It is like Israel in the wilderness, telling Moses they loathe this light bread. Even though manna from Heaven was angel’s food, they came to the place where it became despicable and they developed contempt for it.

We see the correction.

First, we must awaken to the fact that we are spiritually sick and repent of this. Second, in order to get back a normal spiritual appetite, we need to change some things. We need to stop filling our life up with the junk food of this world. We need to establish regular times when we fill our spiritual appetite with Bible reading, prayer, witnessing, church attendance, and service. Solomon said that to the hungry soul, every bitter thing is sweet. Our appetite is healthy again when we are thankful for the trials in our life, the rejection that comes our way, and the ability to have longsuffering towards people who misunderstand us and who are critical of us.

Be careful of becoming complacent. Being complacent is being a middle-of-the-road Christian: you are neither hot nor cold, but lukewarm. Be disciplined in your daily schedule and have an appetite that is always craving the things of God. Be like the thirsty deer that thirsts for water: be thirsting for God all the time.

Have a complacency-resistant God Morning!

Bible Reading Schedule: 1 Samuel 28-31

#Appetite #Complacency #Hunger #Proverbs