Food For The Hungry

The people of Israel ate manna for forty years until they arrived at the land where they would settle.

USDA research tells us that thirty-four million Americans—folks living in our own neighborhoods—frequently go to bed hungry.^a In a country with over sixty thousand grocery stores and a Starbucks on every corner, that reality boggles the mind. While we may not personally know deep hunger, it’s inevitable that we rub shoulders every day with some who do.

The death of your loved one has brought another kind of hunger into your life—an emptiness that nags like a growling belly. You wake up in the morning, and the day that stands before you feels empty without your person. The calendar on the wall documents all the plans you’ve had to cancel since your person died. An empty schedule, an empty life where there used to be activity and joy.

Just one month after God parted the Red Sea and rescued the nation from slavery, the Israelites’ stomachs began to grumble. Gone were the food caches they’d brought from Egypt. They’d gobbled those up right away. Doubt began to gnaw. “We sat around pots filled with meat and ate all the bread we wanted,” the Israelites reminisced about their years under Pharaoh’s thumb (Exodus 16:3, NLT). Rose-colored glasses distorted their memories of the past. Anything would look tasty at this point—even slavery.

If you have experienced the natural emptiness that comes with grief, you know this temptation. Death eats a hole in your life, in your plans for the future, and it’s easy to imagine a quick fix that could make the ache go away. Many bereaved people find that temptations like eating for comfort, using alcohol or drugs, or carelessly pursuing new relationships rise up to allure in ways they never did before. Lack entices us to grasp for sustenance in any place we can find it, even when we know the false promises of worldly pleasure.

God provided food for the Israelites in response to their grumbling. Every morning, like an Uber Eats delivery, fresh manna arrived at their doorsteps. For the next forty years, God never provided a subpar meal. Though the Israelites would doubt his promises and look to satisfy their desires elsewhere, God showed up with dinner every day. In doing so, he gave his people himself—the only food that would ever satisfy.

As you wrestle with your emptiness, are you facing temptations today? Offer God your hungriness, and ask him to fill it with good things cooked up just for you. Resist the urge to seek satisfaction apart from his provision. God promises to nourish you with his presence and provide for every need you have.

The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing.

As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me.

A Prayer: God, my person’s death has left me feeling empty. I hunger for relationships, for energy, for hope, for purpose. It feels like I’ve lost so much. I confess that my emptiness makes me long for easy satisfaction. I crave the “fast food” pleasures of life that give me a false boost of happiness. Draw near to me and keep me from sin. Help me to resist the temptations all around me. Give me your Holy Spirit as Counselor and Guide, directing me ever toward your promises of true nourishment and abundant life. Amen.

An Activity for Today: Food offers us powerful connections to memory. Today, think of a food that reminds you of your person. Did you have a favorite restaurant you frequented together? Order takeout today in his memory. Does a decaf mocha latte she always ordered at Starbucks or the mashed potatoes he requested every Thanksgiving bring your person back to you? Run through the drive-through window on your way to work, or ask a friend to pick up a sack of potatoes for you when she goes for her grocery run. Connect with your person through the smells and tastes of a special food and remember that God provides everything you need, from the calories you require to keep going to the sweet memories of the person you have loved and lost.

A Song to Encourage Your Heart: “Provision” by Mike Janzen