Eat something.

 

Thursday, July 13, 2023


Psalm 35:1-17

1 Samuel 28:3-25

John 4:27-42


Observance: Sydney James Kirby, bishop, pioneer of outback ministry and the Bush Church Aid Society (d. 1935)


Eat something.


There used to be a television show, terrifying in its hubris, laughably sad in its outcome, where a group of people would all sit in a room and the host would speak to one or more of them on behalf of their dead relative. Those of us with more morbid curiosities will have read up on the practice and found that its more modern incarnations (beginning with the revival in the Victorian era under the euphemism “spiritualism”) are closer to psychology than the paranormal. That is, self-professed psychics are exclusively and entirely charlatans who have just enough of an ability to read human emotions but not enough emotional intelligence to channel that ability into something productive. Can you imagine the shock felt by the woman Saul consulted when she discovered that Saul was no easy con and that she had actually reached through into the next world! Necromancy is no game – and it is prohibited by God.


Saul’s desperation to hear God’s voice is understandable, however. Happy as we are to ignore the urging of the Holy Spirit when it suits us, to have God turn His face entirely from us would be truly terrifying. It would spell death – and Saul’s lost appetite proves it.


Yesterday we found comfort in the Lord as refreshing spiritual water. Today we reflect on the bread of heaven. The theme connecting Saul’s empty belly and Jesus’ words about food is obedience. Saul lost his appetite as a direct result of disobeying God; Jesus’ appetite was sated by doing the will of the One by whom He was sent. God has spoken to us, first by the prophets, and now through Jesus (Heb 1:1-2). If you want to hear God’s voice, open your Bible. But it doesn’t stop there – the way the Bible speaks to us is when we put those words into action, when we live by what has been written down for us. When we are thirsty, we turn to Jesus for the ever-flowing streams of living water. When we are hungry, we please God by fulfilling His purposes for us. Go on, Christian: eat something.

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