Can you imagine not noticing when you’re hungry? My friend’s teenage daughter has this condition, part of what’s called poor interoception. This technical term refers to the ability to notice and identify signals within the body, in this case hunger. So my friend’s good mothering over the years has included knowing her daughter’s nutritional needs and prompting her to eat regularly. In doing so, my friend stands in the gap for her daughter, promoting her health and wellbeing.
Bread from Heaven
When I think of hunger, I ponder not only our physical needs but our spiritual ones too. For instance, even though Jesus hadn’t eaten for forty days in the wilderness, he declined Satan’s invitation to turn the stones that He was surrounded by into bread. Quoting from the Hebrew Scriptures, Jesus said, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God’” (Matthew 4:4).
In His discussion with his accuser, Jesus shared what Moses had said when he gave God’s people His laws. At that time, God was preparing His loved ones to take possession of the land He had promised to them, reminding them how He provided for them when they trudged through their forty years of wilderness. Each day God gave them a miracle of manna, food for their bellies. Then when they stood ready to enter into this new land, God didn’t want them to forget Him or how He’d provided for them in the past. Through Moses’ words, He connected their physical hunger with their need for God’s word: “He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord” (Deuteronomy 8:3).
God knows that we hunger for food, but that food won’t fully satisfy. Wanting to fill all of our needs fully and completely, He sent His very own Son to be our manna, the bread from heaven. We learn of this amazing provision when Jesus, having launched into public ministry after being tested by Satan, was speaking to hungry crowds. The people had reveled in being fed miraculously when Jesus fed the five thousand (see John 6:1–13) and were curious about Jesus’ miracles, so they came back for more (v. 26). But rather than meet only their physical hunger or their yearning to experience another miracle, Jesus wanted to satisfy their deepest needs. He said, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world” (vv. 32–33).
That piqued their interest, and they asked for this bread (v. 34). In response, Jesus shared one of the seven “I am” statements in John’s gospel, one that reveals how He fulfills all of our needs: “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty” (v. 35). Here Jesus shared that He is God’s bread from heaven, the manna that will truly satisfy. And that when the people believe in Him, they will never go hungry again.
Living Bread
We might want to hunger for Jesus, for God’s word. But we might struggle, feeling stale or distracted. How, we might wonder, can we hunger for the word of God? How can He meet our needs?
In this I like to think of how my friend prompts her daughter to eat and drink, caring for her needs. In a human way, her love demonstrates God’s love and provision for His people. In a more mind-blowing way, God gives us the Holy Spirit to live within us. Even as my friend encourages her daughter to eat, how much more does God prompt us lovingly each day to come and eat? Through God’s Spirit that dwells within us (1 Corinthians 3:16), God invites us to dine with Him, to enjoy the riches of His feast.
We can, of course, accept or decline the invitation. But when we say yes, we enjoy the food that Jesus sets before us, that which fills our empty spaces. And we too then experience a miraculous multiplication, because after we eat we then hunger for more of the sustenance He will provide each day.
An Invitation
How about you? How’s your level of hunger these days—for God, for His word, for the bread of life? If you feel lacking, know that you need only to ask God for more. God assures us that He always hears us, that as a good Father He delights to respond to our requests. He will keep on feeding us with the bread that satisfies. The bread that never becomes stale or moldy. The bread that we too can share with others.
Come and eat! The bread is fresh out of the oven!
—Written by Amy Boucher Pye. Used by permission from the author. Click here to connect with Amy.
