As they approached, He knew. Were they like my kids, announcing their hunger with collapsing and groaning? Were they vocal about their hunger, wondering loudly and not-so-rhetorically how they would be fed?
However this throng pressed in to see Jesus, He knew that they were hungry—and He understood hunger.
As Savior, He knew soul hunger.
As a teacher, He knew hunger for answers.
As a man, He knew hunger for bread.
And so, on the hillside that evening, from a meager offering of fishes and loaves, He filled their laps and hands and baskets and mouths. After the boy shared his dinner; after the disciples served the crowd; after every man, woman and child filled their bellies, they were full. With 12 still-filled baskets remaining, this crowd of thousands quieted, deeply satisfied.
They were hungry. And then they weren’t.
They came to be with Him, weighed down with hunger of stomach and heart. In feeding their bellies, He fed their souls. He is the God of all that we need, yet able to do so much more than we dare ask.
When we’d be satisfied by mere crumbs, He throws us a banquet.
When we’re looking for morsels, He lays out a buffet.
When we’d settle for scraps, He prepares a table.
Friend, what are you hungry for? Have you asked Him what hunger He is waiting to fill for you?
He will meet our deepest hunger every time. We shall not want.
“Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty’” (John 6:35, NIV).
