DAY 13: Hunger
Why Worry About Food?
1 Kings 17:1-16
…make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterwards make something for yourself and your son.
Cakes, water, bread, olive oil, fish, manna, quails, figs, wheat, grapes, and wine. Why is food such a big deal in the Bible? The Bible talks about spiritual matters, prayer, angels, heaven, love, things unseen, and miracles, but you don't have to read too far before you come across something about eating and food. Food is a necessary thing for all living organisms. It's how God made us and why he blessed us with a world that provides everything we need to stay alive and active.
However, there are times when food or water is in short supply or nonexistent in the world. When hunger or draught happens, our prayers and concerns are very important, but we can't ignore just how important real food and real water are to a person. We can't live without it or with too little of it, at least not for long.
Elijah had faith in God, but he still needed something in his stomach to keep him going in his work and ministry. The widow was a hard worker and gathered food for her family, but it was not enough to keep them alive. She needed to have a little more food each day to keep her son and herself healthy.
When people are hungry and thirsty, they need to be fed. God knows this and has provided abundant resources somewhere in the world to share in places where they are scarce. Into this world God has also placed you and me, people who can find and share abundance and resources so that others can be both physically and spiritually fed and continue living and serving as children of God.
Where are there undiscovered stashes of resources (i.e., vegetables that grocery stores throw away each day, old bread in bakeries, leftovers from the school cafeteria, torn or stained new clothing thrown out at a factory, restaurant leftovers, building materials thrown into a dumpster at a construction site, etc.)? How can you make use of these resources differently so that they are not wasted?
Prayer:
Our God and Creator, thank you for the richness of creation that keeps us alive, blesses us, and makes life interesting. With your help, I will share this richness with those who have little, and I will open myself up to receiving the blessings they have to share with me. Amen
Action step:
Do some exploring on the Internet and learn about the causes of hunger and poverty. It's a pretty complicated problem, but a growing number of people and world leaders believe the solutions can be achieved if we commit our resources (including money) and ourselves to it. What are you willing to do? Would you like some suggestions? Go to:
contributed by Rod Boriack