Are you hungry?
Looking down at his tummy, he pulls his warm, red sweatshirt out and says, “Jesus, are you hungry?” He pauses, listening, and then looks up, face bright. “He says yes!” and promptly swallows a bite of yogurt. For his friend, Jesus, you see.
“Jesus, are You hungry?”
His question rings in my mind long after he’s trotted off to play and I’m back at my desk. Stirring in the recesses this morning, as I prepare for the day, it sits quietly, still. There’s something here…
As I sit in my quiet place by the living room lamp, I hear His voice. “What are you hungry for?”
Hmm. Well, I’m battling a wave of fear and discouragement right now; the enemy’s been pressing in strong. What, exactly, am I hungry for?
So I answer. “Peace. And rest. No worry or anxiety.”
“Do you really?”
“I think so.” (At this point, my little boy, all warm and soft with blankie in his arms, wriggles up onto my lap and sits quietly as I’m talking with Jesus.)
“Then why do you insist on carrying so many things by yourself?” He always, always seeks to take us to the root of the matter, the heart of things. That’s His way.
This makes me stop and consider. No quick, blithe answer will do here. “Because I think I have to? If I’m not worrying about it, nothing will get done?”
“Anything else?”
“Because deep down, I’m not sure You’ll come through for me. I think of all the things that could possibly go wrong and I worry.”
“I’m hungry, too, you know.”
“You are?”
“Oh, yes. I hunger deeply. For you – all of you! I long to have your heart, your love. I want you to want Me. It gives me such pleasure when you sit with Me…just sit.
“I watch you every minute of every day. My eyes never leave you. I watch you as you take care of your family. How well you love them, though you doubt it so often.” (And here He speaks words that are so precious and intimate, they must remain in my journal.)
He continues. “I grieve. I weep when I see that fear has entered your heart. That sly distrust of the Father is the enemy’s way of dividing and conquering. It hinders your full abiding in Me and disrupts the flow of life that runs from Me to you. He’s after your joy, and you must guard it well.”
“I long for you, for your full love and trust. Just as you have feelings and emotions, so do I, the One Who was fully God and fully man. It gives me unparalleled happiness when My child loves Me for Me and not just for what I can do.
“So trust Me, child. Love Me. Sit with me. Abide in Me. In that way, you are ministering to Me.”
Today, in the midst of an ordinary day, in the details of a common life, He asks you the same question., “What are you hungry for?” He listens – really listens – for your answer. He wants you to know that He’s hungry, too, longing for you, your love, your whole affection and trust.
Rest quiet, dear ones, in His love. If you’re unsure of His heart toward you, ask Him – ask Him! – and He will speak precious words of love over you, too. This, I know, will make Him happy.