REVELATION 7:16
‘Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat down on them, nor any scorching heat.'
TO PONDER
I love to cook, especially on a BBQ. I'd like to think that I cook a pretty mean BBQ. Those who have been to our house will know that the back patio area is dedicated to a variety of meat cooking and smoking equipment. Whether it is a steak quickly seared on the BBQ hotplate or a brisket, lovingly cooked low and slow in the smoker over 18 hours, the smell of smoke and cooking meat always makes me hungry. But unfortunately, no matter how much I over cater at my BBQ's, no matter how full I get, I always end up hungry again.
While I enjoy cooking, as a parent with three hungry kids it can be easy to spend most of the day thinking about the next meal. It is difficult to imagine the situation described in this text - to never be hungry. While I'm sure that physical hunger is part of the equation that is being addressed here in today's reading, I think we are probably better served by thinking more broadly of our appetites. When God's plan of salvation reaches its ultimate fulfilment, no longer will we suffer from misplaced appetites. No longer will we hunger for things that don't really satisfy.
Yet we can start living in that reality today. When we let Jesus be the central focus and desire of our lives then we begin to realise more acutely that he is all we need. Jesus invites us today to let him guide and direct us to ultimate fulfilment in this life and the next as we learn to love and worship him in all circumstances.
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, please help me to learn and understand more deeply that you are all I need. Please fill me with you love so that I might help others also find their fulfilment in you. Amen
Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle.