As a mother of six, if I had a dollar for every time I’ve been asked, “What’s for dinner?” I could gift each of you reading this with your own personal chef. How are kids always “starving”?! And shouldn’t a Costco membership just come home with you from the hospital maternity ward or the courtroom post-adoption? 

My kids constantly have food on their minds! They’re always hungry, always need a snack, are always needing an updated ETA on when their next meal will be ready so they can eat again. The grocery bill for the #HensleyEight is outrageous, friends. And I secretly treasure it. Because this means we’re all home together, eating and growing, privileged to have food on the table, and I am able to dependably meet their needs. 

God’s Word is the bread of life. It is a feast for us. Man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. (Deut. 8:3) When we’re Christian infants, we only eat milk and baby food from the Word. This is learning the ABCs and 123s of what Scripture says. But as we mature and grow as Christians, we begin to shift into eating solid food. (Heb. 5:13-14) The solid food phase of a mature believer is when they use the Word for spiritual application in their lives. This is when we can really begin to see the fruit of someone’s life revealed. As believers, not only do we need to be growing and moving from milk to solid food; but we need to be hungry for it. We need to “become like little children” and get hungry all the time, always ready to feast on the Word and eagerly anticipating our next snack or meal.

If you’re a parent, you remember when your child started on solid foods. Maybe it was once or twice a day you gave them oatmeal or cereals, and they were still receiving milk too. Then it began to transition to a heavier focus on real food meals and spoon feeding them and only offering a bottle once a day. And eventually, before you knew it they were eating goldfish crackers in the backseat of the mini van while double fisting juice boxes like it was their job. Once your child became proficient in solid food, it wasn’t a “one and done” mastery. Yes, they had obtained the skill, but if they didn’t use that skill all day, every day, they wouldn’t grow. Without the solid food and constant eating of God’s Word, we become malnourished and hangry believers.

Those of us who know Christ need to be chasing after the feast of God’s Word like our kids are chasing after bags of Cheez-Its and yogurt sticks. These kids are always hungry and always have the next meal in mind. And we need to be that way as Christ followers. He is the source to satisfy all of our hunger, daily. Coming to Christ is not a “one and done” prayer and you’re good to go for eternity. We need to come to Him for our daily bread. And if you don’t have an appetite for that, I would submit to you that that may be something to really consider. To evaluate why it is that you’re not begging Him for a snack and asking Him for your next meal to cure your hunger. 

It’s important to note that God is not an earthly parent who gets annoyed with our questions and pursuits after Him. He’s not trying to outrun us or hide in the pantry to get a minute alone, rather, God wants us to come to Him anytime. His Word tells us He delights in us. That alone is miraculous – that the holy Creator of the entire universe knows all the hairs on each of our heads and cares about every detail of our lives and He’s never bothered by us pursuing Him and asking Him questions or begging Him to feed us. 

As an introverted, over-stimulated mom of six, sometimes I just want some quiet time. I’m overwhelmed and annoyed (there, I admit it – kids are annoying sometimes, y’all. I’ll say it out loud on behalf of all parents too afraid to confess it 😉 – but they’re sanctifying us, right?!) But God is NOT human. He’s our heavenly Father and that sets Him apart, which is what holy means. God is holy. And that, in and of itself, tells us He cannot sin against us. He is not lying to us. He is not tricking us. And His feast (His Word) is always for our building up, for our nourishment, and for our health. 

How have you been feasting on the Word lately? Are you malnourished and only a shell of a follower of Christ lately? Are you satisfied and eating full meals and snacks all throughout the day? I want to remind us all (self included) we have got to be IN the Word, learning His character, learning His ways, learning what He would have us to be doing as His body, the church. May we all aim to be on solid food from Him, making decisions and behaving in a way that reveals us putting in to practice those ABCs of Scripture we learned when we were on milk. 

And maybe we can all agree to let our kids’ requests for snacks and dinner be our tangible reminder to dig into God’s Word and feast. Maybe even in that exact moment of our kids’ questions and requests for food, we grab for our Bible or the Bible App. If we do, we’ll be constantly in the Word, all day every day, literally. Because these kids are just *never* full, y’all. May we all aspire to chase after God and His Word the way my kids chase after the Costco sample cart lady. Yes and amen.