Yes, he humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna, a food previously unknown to you and your ancestors. He did it to teach you that people do not live by bread alone; rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. Deuteronomy 8:3 NLT
My dad was born at the end of the depression era. He remembers the scarcity of food. As Americans today, we can’t fully comprehend nor appreciate the abundance of food choices that are available to each of us. I remember taking a youth to Ryans for his birthday, it was his first time eating at a buffet. He only ate a little bit on one plate. Even though I told him he could eat as much of it as he wanted, he couldn’t comprehend that all of it was available to him. Hunger resets our values to what is truly important for our bodies. This is true both physically and spiritually.
Lack of access to basic necessities like food or water, brings us to a place of humility. The nation of Israel followed God into the desert as He was leading them to the promised land of Canaan. He fed them, gave them water, and directed their path. They were living without the comforts of Egypt, but had what they needed to survive, They were learning the blessing of dependency.
The reality is no one wants to do without. We have no desire to endure suffering whether it’s from our own comfort zone or deprived of basic necessities. As a young child we quickly let go of our parents hand, so that we can walk on our own. Training wheels on bikes are removed to give us more freedom, even though the risks of falling increases. We like our independence.
During this time of mandatory stay-at-home, what dependencies have been revealed? We quickly learned that people were afraid of running out of toilet paper, Grocery store shelves are emptied and some of your favorite foods are just not there. Many have struggled with the lack of sports entertainment. Not being able to get together with friends has been a bummer for the extrovert and introvert. Have you missed gathering and worshipping at church?
Feeding your hunger also reveals your ability to make good or bad choices. Junk food taste good for a moment, but leaves the body in worse condition. This is also true spiritually. Feeding your time with busyness and other media will not satisfy the deep longings within your heart.
Take time for worship. Take time to meditate on God’s word. Take time to be still and learn to engage the voice of God who is speaking with you. He will lead and guide you into a place of dependency that is great for your soul.
God did allow the nation of Israel to get hungry, but He also fed them with Manna. All of that was to teach them to trust that God would speak to them with sustaining words for and over their lives. When you are humbled, tune your ears to what the Spirit is saying. You may have to wait to understand the answer, but that is part of the blessing of dependency.
Blessings, Love y’all