Feed Yourself

By Mark Berggren

Do you remember the four food groups? As a child of the '80s, I still have vivid memories of taking annual tests in school where I had to correctly identify each of these groups and be able to recall the exact number of daily servings I should be eating. This was always hard for me to remember because, outside of school, my diet was a different story. To my peers and me, Twinkies, Lemonheads, Nerds, and Atomic Fireballs were the actual four food groups.

At that age, making a daily effort to eat fiber, protein, and dairy was the furthest thing from my mind. On test days, though, we towed the line and answered the way our teachers wanted us to. Even though the USDA kept changing its mind—first with seven food groups, then four, and now five—the point my teachers were trying to get across was simple: food is a big deal.

Food is a big deal in God’s Word, too. After God created Adam, it only took two verses for Him to start talking about what mankind would eat: “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food.” (Genesis 1:29 ESV) Elsewhere, the Bible likens our spiritual walk to eating. In Psalm 34:8 (ESV) it says, “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!”

One of the reasons God gave us the gift of eating is so we could learn dependence on Him. Every time we gather together to eat, we’re admitting our own need and admitting that God is our Sustainer. We’re acknowledging that He provides our “daily bread” (Matthew 6:11).

LIVING ON THE WORD

Jesus had a lot to say about eating, even when He was fasting from food. In Matthew 4:4 (ESV), Jesus responded to Satan’s temptation in the wilderness by quoting the Old Testament: “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

This is a good reminder for us when we can easily forget to keep our souls fed on the Word of God. Sometimes we end up neglecting the very things that keep our spirits strong, confident, and at rest. The amazing thing is that we can actually end up harming our soul by idolizing the very things meant to give us rest—things like vacations, picnics, sleeping in, grilling out, hiking, and time with friends and family. We must make the same effort to remain dependent on God as is required throughout the rest of the year. Because our dependence on Him is our rest.

When Jesus said that mankind lives on every word that comes from God, He was saying this as His physical hunger had hit its peak. After Jesus had spent 40 days without food in the wilderness, Satan challenged Him to take advantage of His divine power by creating bread to satisfy His hunger pangs. But even while He was on the verge of physical starvation, Jesus knew His need for the voice of God, expressed in Scripture, was greater still. Time spent alone with God, listening to His voice, was truly more important to Jesus than food itself. And if Jesus needed that time in God’s Word, how much more do we?

ARE YOU HUNGRY?

We don’t need to go 40 whole days without food to know what physical hunger feels like. But we might not immediately recognize when we’re spiritually starving. So, how do we know when we’re getting spiritually hungry?

First, we usually know through our interactions with God Himself. Second, we know through our interactions with others. A good test to gauge our spiritual health is to simply ask, “What brings me the most joy right now?”

What makes you more joyful? An encouragement from Scripture? Or an upcoming trip?
What helps you to find rest? A truth from God’s Word? Or a new toy you’ve ordered online?
What gives you peace? A promise from God? Or the chance to sleep in a few extra mornings?

“Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.” (Isaiah 55:2 ESV) I believe God’s desire for our Summer is that we feed regularly on His Word, finding our true rest in Him.

In addition to spending some time in God’s Word, allow me to recommend some Bible-saturated books to help feed your soul. Here are a few that have encouraged me along the way:

1. My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers
2. Recapturing the Wonder: Transcendent Faith in a Disenchanted World by Mike Cosper
3. Encounters with Jesus by Tim Keller
4. The Furious Longing of God by Brennan Manning