Hunger Pains…Do you have them?
By Ray Longwood
It’s noon in the office. I hear co-workers scurrying to put on coats and jackets to exit to their local lunch-time destinations. Then I hear the beeping of the microwaves in the office kitchen and the discussion of who has what for lunch. Seconds later, the aroma of someone’s leftover porter house steak from Texas Roadhouse (I only know this because they were bragging about it earlier) fills the air and slaps me in my face. Then it happens: the rumbling of my stomach followed by an intense pain--a pain that is caused by peristaltic contractions of the stomach. It’s the body’s warning mechanism to let you know that it needs FOOD!
This may be a scenario that many of us are facing during this time of fasting and prayer. What about our spirits? Many of us are facing pains in our lives: sadness, depression, emptiness...I could go on. These are spiritual warning mechanisms. These are the pains we feel in our spirits when we are facing a challenge, when we are “against the ropes” and we don’t know how much more we can take. Make no mistake—we are in need of something. So many times we try to ease that pain by trying to ignore it or attempt to quench it with worldly desires which may ease it for a short while but the pain ends up coming back stronger than before. Food is the only cure that can ease the infamous hunger pains and Jesus is the only cure for our spiritual pain.
Have you ever thought about it? As often as we eat to satisfy our hunger, we need Jesus that much and more to satisfy us spiritually. We should all attempt to be "filled with the Spirit” (see Ephesians 5:18). The fuller we are spiritually, the less of an impact the pains will have because of our increased faith and closeness with Jesus. Stay strong, keep the faith, and Love Wins!
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