Tuesday, October 05, 2010

Come And Eat

"Come, all you who are thirsty,
       come to the waters;
       and you who have no money,
       come, buy and eat!
       Come, buy wine and milk
       without money and without cost.

 2 Why spend money on what is not bread,
       and your labor on what does not satisfy?
       Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
       and your soul will delight in the richest of fare."  Isaiah 55:1-2 


Imagine this scenario.  You decide to go grocery shopping.  You wheel your cart around the store, filling it with good things to eat, and then you go to the checkout.  You wait in line for your turn at the cashier, and then you arrive.  The cashier scans your groceries and they get placed in bags.  You wait patiently for the total so that you can pay and leave.  Instead, the cashier smiles, and says Thank you for shopping with us today, there is no charge for these groceries, enjoy them, and come back when you need to."

That would be fun, wouldn't it?  And yet, those groceries, though they cost us nothing, don't really satisfy that hunger that is deep inside us.  That gnawing that is coming from within us that neither food nor drink will fill and take away.

Only God can satisfy that hunger that lies restless inside. 

So many people today try to fill that hunger with other things.  They try to find a hobby to fill it with, or a career, or perhaps they try to fill it with other people, family, friends.  But the truth is, that until God fills that hunger, there will always seem to be something missing.  And then, when the truth comes to light, that it is only God who can fill that empty space, and we ask God to fill that empty space, we will find that our soul is filled with delight.

We were born to crave God. 

Have you ever had a food craving?  Pregnant women are infamous for food cravings, but I'm sure we all remember one time or another where we just HAD to have a brownie, or a piece of fried chicken, or a cheeseburger from that fast food place down the street.

Our soul has a different craving- a craving that will not go away until Jesus Christ Himself has satisfied it.  We could spend our entire lifetime spending millions of dollars on millions of things to try and meet that craving, but it is all in vain- as the only thing that will satisy that craving is the Living Bread and the Living Water.

The great news is that we don't have to spend our lifetime searching in vain for that elusive "thing" that will satisfy our soul.  We can have that very thing for free at anytime.  All we have to do is say yes to Jesus, and He will satisfy our soul's desires beyond our wildest dreams.

Jesus is all we need.  With Him in our hearts and our lives, we need never fear finding an empty space in our lives again.  Sometimes we may feel that our tanks might be running a little low- and for me, that is a sign that I have not been spending enough time in my Bible, or enough time in prayer.   But all I have to do is purpose to spend some time with Him, and that tank fills right back up, and I feel satiety and contentment.  I feel blessed and like I can take on the world.  Jesus does that all by Himself.

Jesus satisfies like nothing else can.  Come, all you are thirsty and drink.  There is no cost.

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