Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare. Isaiah 55:2
I am sure that you are like me and on more than one occasion you have sat down and eaten a meal tha while you were no longer hungry, it just wasn’t as good as you had wanted and expected. Ultimately you get up from the table unsatisfied.
Let’s take a moment and look at this principle on a little deeper and wider scale.
How often in our lives have we set out on earthly pursuits and activities with the same purpose to feel fulfilled and whole. Yet, ultimately just like the meal above while we found these pursuits and actives to be ksatisfying temporarily, ultimately we were still left unfulfilled. Such pursuits and actives include, but are not limited to money, power, drugs/alcohol, relationships, etc As noted, these things may seem to leave us satisfied, it is only temporary and superficial and will never truly satisfy the deep needs of our souls.
So, how do we go about truely fulfilling these deep needs and genuinely satisfying our souls? I believe, the verses I have shared below give us a good pattern to follow. The principal of the pattern is pretty straightforward. However, our having the willingness and discipline to follow it is not as certain. It simply boils down to three words…
COME, ASK, EAT.
COME
Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28
Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. John 6:35
What does “Come to me” mean? I believe the first step is exactly what we are talking about, recognizing that there is nothing in this world that will ever be able to full fulfill and satisfy that deep need in our souls. As I am pretty sure we have all heard, “There is a God shaped hole in all of us.” once we come to realize that and accept it, we have two choices, continue in our misery, or come to Him.
Miriam Webster defines “come” as “to move toward something or approach.”
Another way to say this is “to draw near.”
Thus “Come to Me” means to set aside our earthly pursuits and to move towards, approach and draw near to that gave His everything to have a relationship with us.
Therefore, since we also have such a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let’s rid ourselves of every obstacle and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let’s run with endurance the race that is set before us, [2] looking only at Jesus, the originator and perfecter of the faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:1-2
ASK
[9] “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. [10] For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, it will be opened. [11] Now which one of you fathers will his son ask for a fish, and instead of a fish, he will give him a snake? [12] Or he will even ask for an egg, and his father will give him a scorpion? [13] So if you, despite being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?” Luke 11:9-13
[23] And on that day you will not question Me about anything. Truly, truly I say to you, if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you. [24] Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full. John 16:23-24
… You do not have because you do not ask. James 4:2
No need to dig real deep here, but let’s pull out some key points from these passages.
ask, and it will be given to you;
For everyone who asks receives,
If you, despite being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”
if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you.
Until now you have asked for nothing in My name;
ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full.
You do not have because you do not ask.
Let’s summarize – these deep needs are unmet, because we have not asked him to .eet them. If we will only call out to him and then He promises to answer and provide what is sought. Why would he answer these requests? So that our joy will be full. We WILL be know and experience that fulfillment and satisfaction that we have so desperately been seeking. The joy is this process, is what we see in the final step. We realize that what we are truly in need o his not the gifts and answered requests, but the giver and provider of those gifts.
EAT
Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare. Isaiah 55:2
[14] but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never be thirsty; but the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up to eternal life.” John 4:14
Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. John 6:35
There Is much spiritual symbolism in these passages, but what does it mean to us And do we apply it in our daily lives?
I believe one of the first keys is that We remember another passage –
[1] In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
[14] And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us; and we saw His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:1, 14
With the above in mind, we realize that spending time in the Word, reading, studying and consuming it is vital.
Isaiah 55 also calls us to Listen. Prayer and meditation, are not optional if we seek to be truly feel fulfilled and satisfied. I am not talking about having a “quiet time”. I am talking about our days being filled with on going communion with Him.
Just like natural food, if you are eating all the time you are never hungry so it is with earing and drinking of Him. The difference is that eating with and of Him, causes that hole to be filled and for us to know the peace and joy that we so deeply need and desire.
So my dear friends, brothers and sisters, I urge you with all that is in me to open yours and hearts to hear and answer his call. Set aside every weight and pursuit that would hold you back, COME to Him, ASK for the good Spritual food, and EAT of His body and blood the Bread of Life that you will know HIS Joy and the Peace that He has promised that passes all understanding.
[12] Not that I have already grasped it all or have already become perfect, but I press on if I may also take hold of that for which I was even taken hold of by Christ Jesus. [13] Brothers and sisters, I do not regard myself as having taken hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, [14] I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:12-14
Until next time, it is my honor and privilege to share with you and I am the one blessed that You give up your valuable time amd energy to here what I have to share.
Be blessed
Gary
Pdf version for download
Leave a Reply