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“You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat” (Matthew 5:6, MSG).
Stella’s belly was upset. At first, her owners did not know why. Yet the veterinarian’s X-rays revealed that the Labrador had eaten eight pair of Lululemon underwear.
Stella must have good taste. The undergarments were valued at $200. Word has it that the next-door neighbor’s Boxer was envious of Stella’s ill-gotten booty.
The good news is the young pup handled the ordeal like a trooper. Stella’s surgery was successful, and her recovery was brief. (Please forgive the puns. Sometimes I don’t know when to stop.)
Oftentimes, bored dogs chew on a variety of materials because they find the differing textures and scents to be stimulating. In other instances, family pets gnaw on household articles because they experience separation anxiety when left along for long periods of time. While owners find the behavior to be destructive, dogs engage in such actions as a means of coping with the stress they feel.
In a very real sense, the animal is craving for fellowship. Yet the pooch consumes a second-rate substitute that can never fill its true longing. The same principle can be applied to the spiritual appetite of human beings. Blaise Pascal is often credited with the following quote:
There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of every person, and it can never be filled
by any created thing. It can only be filled by God, made known through Jesus Christ.
Pascal believed that while our true desire is to be in close relationship with God, our soul can be stuffed with smaller things like food, material possessions, power, alcohol, family, sports, and the like. None of these things are bad in and of themselves. Yet when consumed to excess, they fail to nourish our spirit and potentially can do us great harm.
As John Piper puts it:
If we don’t feel strong desires for the manifestation of the glory of God…it is because
we have nibbled so long at the table of the world. Our soul is stuffed with small things,
and there is no room for the great.
When you find yourself too full of these “smaller things” then try a paradoxical approach. Give fasting a try.
The irony of fasting from these less nourishing substitutes is that our appetite for God actually increases. Fasting, when combined with prayer, are the keys to not only restoring balance to our lives but is also a means of reconnecting with the one who called himself the Bread of Life. When you push yourself away from the “table of the world” for a time, you likewise will discover yourself being drawn more closely to Jesus.
Be wise. Learn from Stella’s mistake. Rather than “woofing” down something that can satisfy you briefly, feast instead at the spiritual buffet of prayer and fasting. Doing so will satisfy your soul and alleviate any heartburn.
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