God’s Primary Provision for Our Spiritual Hunger
A Christian Feast
I wonder if we have considered that our main spiritual meal is to be enjoyed at church with our church family. I don’t think many of us have considered that because we think of Bible reading in such an individualistic way. But think about it this way: God created us—all of us—to hunger for him.
Help for the Hungry Soul
Kristen Wetherell
In Help for the Hungry Soul, author Kristen Wetherell offers 8 encouragements to spur an appetite for God’s word—the only thing that can truly satisfy a soul hungry for more.
And how does God intend to satisfy that hunger? He gives us his word. Matthew 4 says that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. And where is God’s word? Where do we find and hear God’s word? It’s in the Bible. And then we have to ask the question, Well, what is the Bible? And who was it written to?
Yes, it’s written to us as individuals, absolutely. But it was written to—overarchingly—the gathered people of God. Everything from the Old Testament prophets addressing God’s gathered people being given the law to the people in the New Testament letters. Who were they written for? The church. God’s gathered people.
This is a feast that we get to enjoy with our church family. And the church is the body of Christ.
So when we look at this overarchingly, we can say our main spiritual meal is actually to be enjoyed as God’s gathered people hearing the word preached, reading the word together, praying through the word, singing the word through music. This is a wonderful gift. It’s not just snacking on God’s word, which is what we tend to do throughout the week.
Whether there are smaller snacks—quick, on-the-go while you’re with your little kids—or bigger meals when maybe you have an hour to look into a deeper study of the word. These are not just snacks. This is a feast that we get to enjoy with our church family. And the church is the body of Christ. And just like our bodies need more than just snacks to grow and to thrive, the body of Christ needs the feast. They need the full, well-rounded meal in God’s word in order to grow and thrive together.
Kristen Wetherell is the author of Help for the Hungry Soul: Eight Encouragements to Grow Your Appetite for God’s Word.
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