give us this day...

i shared here a couple of weeks ago that a new friend had asked me to do something.  well, that time has come.  i spent many days and hours listening.  discerning what He would have me share.  my friend asked me to write the devotions for the youth camping trip this weekend.   each year the kids go on Deliverance.  they journey deep into the woods and do things that aren't really my style {like bathing in lakes and sleeping in tents and eating food straight from a can, umm...i don't think so.  my idea of camping involves a hotel with a continental breakfast.} but, i digress. 

the theme for this trip was 'the hunger games'. the kids will be camping on matthew 5:6.  each day they will have quiet time to read a devotion and spend time in prayer.  this is where i come in.  i shared some thoughts on hunger and thirst for the devotion.  this is what i will share with you over the next couple of days. 

may it resonate deeply within your soul.  and may the hearts of these youth be ripe for seeds of truth to take root.

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{day 1:  devotion}

believe it or not, it wasn't that long ago i stood in your shoes.  struggling with the same teenage angst you face day in and day out.  watching the world around me and wondering where was my place.


will i fit in?  are my clothes cool enough?  can i be part of the popular crowd?  will my grades get me into the right college? 


when the bell rang in my seventh grade year, i hungered for popularity.  acceptance.  to be part of the 'in' crowd.  and this hunger led me down crooked, dark paths that got me no where. it was a hunger so loud it kept me awake at night.  and the more i tried to feed the hunger the louder it growled back at me. 


much like the israelites, i wandered aimlessly.  in the same spot.  for too many years. 

God said to moses,
'i'm going to rain bread down from the skies for you. 

 the people will go out and gather each day's portion. 

i'm going to test them to see if they will
live according to my teaching or not.

exodus 16:4

 

 

after escaping egypt and journeying with moses and aaron in to the wilderness, the israelites cried out in their hunger.  God heard their cries.  and promised to send provision for their needs. 

 

 

each of us are born with a soul hunger so deep.  it growls incessantly.  begging us to feed the empty space.  the problem is, we often feast from the buffet of the world.  pride.  popularity.  fashion.  acceptance.  it manifests differently in each of us. 

 

 

but the more we feast on the ways of the world, the hungrier we end up.  we are famished.  starving for something to satisfy the ache that screams from our souls. 

 

 

our search for love, for meaning, for happiness is often our pursuit of God in disguise. 

 

 

because God sent His Son, we have been given the bread of Life.  the One who came to satisfy our hunger.  the One who promises we will never hunger again.  the One who gives us food to last for everlasting life. 

 

 

what are your down-deep cravings? 
the growl that keeps you awake at night?

how are you feasting on the world to curb your appetite?

in what ways can you feast on the bread of life to satisfy your hunger?

 

 

 

may you recognize your hunger as a need for the One who came to fill you.  may you feast richly on His Word, savoring each morsel.  and may the bread of Life leave you hungry for more, as you devour more of Him each day.