This time of year, there is one major thought swirling around in my mind. I love to eat a Thanksgiving feast! So much has changed over the years in terms of Thanksgiving family feasts and this year I am finding myself lamenting over how time has changed our family dynamics. Who will be around, who should I invite, what is it going to look and feel like? I find myself thinking, it’s just not the same. This is where God has stepped in and has redirected my mind and heart on what matters most. God asks, “What are you hungry for?”
With minds full of questions and chaos, my husband and I decided to walk on our prayer loop around our property. Over the last year, my husband has bush-hogged a mile long loop in the woods and it has become one of my favorite things to do during the week. That day, nearly the entire time we walked in silence. I enjoyed the focus on God. I had this idea while I walked, I would recite as many Bible verses as I could in a row and turn them into prayers. I wanted to sort of test myself to see what was stored up in my heart and mind.
So, I started, “God, I am casting my cares, on you because you care for me.” 1 Peter 5:7
“You are close to the broken-hearted and those crushed in spirit.” Psalm 34:17,18
“I’m presenting my requests to you, please give me peace beyond understanding.” Philippians 4:7
“I’m approaching you with confidence knowing you are here with me, and you hear me and if I am praying in accordance with your will, you will answer me.” 1 John 5:14-15
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1
It occurred to me that I know the first verse in the Bible, but I don’t know the last. I continued walking and thought, how cool would it be to know and memorize one verse from each of the books of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. This mile walk was an incredibly special time with God, I needed Him, I was hurting and longing for peace and healing.
Before I went to bed, I opened my devotional to the next chapter and what did I see? Chapter 24, Genesis to Revelation. It made my heart burst knowing that God had been walking, right along with me, on that path. He was saying, “I heard you. I heard every word. I do care for you. You are close to me and I am close to you.”
I receive comfort and peace that only He can give. He reminds me how He truly fills me up. It’s often the case that our pain drives us to a stronger relationship with Christ and increases our hunger for Him. God was revealing to me that the feasting that matters is not necessarily food. It’s a different kind of feast. A feast that can satisfy more than any food ever could. A feast on the Word of God.The author of Feast, Wendy Speake says, “I can look back over my life and see the times I stopped feasting, I stopped reading and therefore stopped listening. God used each wayward season to increase my hunger and bring me back to Him, often malnourished.” Pastor D.L. Moody said, “The bible was not given for our information but for our transformation.”
In Revelation 3:20 Jesus is saying, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.” That’s how important feasting is that Jesus mentions sitting at YOUR table and eating with YOU! Then two verses later, “Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says…” We don’t just sit around the table and eat; we actually talk and listen to each other. Jesus wants to talk to YOU!
Revelation 10:9 says this, “I went to the angel and told him to give me the little scroll; and he said to me, ‘Take it, and eat.’” John, the author of Revelation, wants the words that the angel has for him, and the angel gives it to him with the command to eat it. Eat a scroll? Yes. Take it in, chew it around, swallow it so that it becomes part of your insides. Don’t just read your Bible; eat this book. Hunger for it.
“Taste and see that the Lord is good.” As the Psalmist says. God’s question for you today is, “What are you hungry for?” Instead of focusing on turkey and mashed potatoes, we can ask for love and forgiveness. Instead of stuffing and pumpkin pie, we can ask for joy and peace. Let’s be hungry for the things of God. Things that truly fill us up and satisfy. We will be full, but not the kind of full like on Thanksgiving Day where we are so uncomfortable that we have to take off our belt or unbutton the top button on our pants. Our kind of full will be comfortable, that of an abundant life now and in the time to come. Let’s invite Jesus to sit with us at our table, and think about our communion with Him as if He were sitting right beside us.
Let this season be a reminder that we must invite God in to sit at the table. A reminder that God really does have a feast prepared for us. We can enjoy it now and we will more fully enjoy it when our time on earth is through.
