This Week's Scripture & Reflection: Proverbs 27:7
In a severe state of hunger, we tend to eat anything in sight. Often times, we do so without contemplating what we are consuming and the effects it will have on us. In a severe state of hunger, we rarely exercise wisdom in our decision making because our desire to seek fulfillment is fueled by an underlying desire to please our flesh, which could care less about us making wise decisions. Admittedly, how often have we consumed something out of hunger, and then later realized that it was not as pleasant as it seemed in the moment?
In today’s passage, Solomon, the renowned sage of wisdom, offers us profound insight into this matter: “A satisfied soul loathes the honeycomb, but to a hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet." This verse speaks to something much deeper than simply physical hunger; it speaks to spiritual hunger. The hungry soul consumes a myriad of different offerings in a desperate attempt to fill itself; however, its discernment is faulty and therefore untrustworthy. It falsely discerns things that are inherently unpleasant as pleasant, unhealthy as healthy, detrimental as beneficial, and deadly as life-giving.
In contrast, the satisfied, or full, soul loathes the honeycomb. This word loathe in the Hebrew means to “trample (on)”; in essence, the satisfied soul tramples on the honeycomb, something that is greatly desired, because it is already full. The satisfied soul does not need nor does it seek that which is excess. It is able to trample on all types of gluttonous, salacious, and lustful desires because the source of its fulfillment provides sufficient sustenance.
Our souls will severely hunger apart from the intimate presence of God in our lives, more specifically, apart from us seeking Him daily through prayer, devotion, and worship. The apostle Paul admonishes us that we will not carry out the desires of the flesh if we walk in and by the Holy Spirit (cf. Galatians 5:16). We end up carrying out those fleshly desires because we do not seek God to satisfy us when we are hungry, often because we do not believe that He is sufficient to do so. In John 6, Jesus boldly declares “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst” (cf. John 6:35). Jesus has promised to fill and spiritually sustain those who trust and believe in Him as Savior and Lord! When we reject worldly pleasures and desires and seek Him earnestly, we shall be fulfilled!
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