You’re Not You When You’re Hungry

A Series on Living in the Wilderness: Part 2
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Luke 4:1-13 

[This is Part 2 in a series of looking at people who lived in the wilderness. Not necessarily the wilderness of nature, but the wilderness of life. In fact, there are times when we all feel like we are living in the wilderness. During those times, it’s important to remember that the Lord is faithful. That He loves you and is always with you.]

  

In 2010, Snickers started an ad campaign called, “You’re not you when you’re hungry”.

The premise of this long running campaign was that, as a result of being hungry, a person turned into a different person, normally a celebrity. Then, once they took a bite of a Snickers bar, they returned to their normal self.

 

Along the same lines, a research study was recently completed and published regarding the term “hanger”. This is a word used to describe anger resulting from hunger. The article confirmed, “Results indicated that greater levels of self-reported hunger were associated with greater feelings of anger”.

 

Twelve step programs use the acronym of HALT - which stands for hungry, angry, lonely and tired - as a potential trigger for acting out. They didn’t need a funny commercial or an expensive research study to know that hunger can result in anger which can lead a person to rationalize most any behavior.

 

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, ² where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.    NIV

 

Duh! If anyone could use hunger as an excuse for acting out, or giving into temptation, it was Jesus. You can imagine that he might have been angry at the whole world. So, why did the Holy Spirit lead Jesus into the wilderness of Judea?

 

Like Israel wandering in the wilderness for forty years, Jesus living in the wilderness for forty days and forty nights, was a testing and preparation experience for what he was going to face during his ministry.

 

But even beyond this reason, there is another. By enduring the trials and temptations of living in the wilderness, Jesus is able to relate to you and to me on a purely personal and human level.

 

“Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.”       Hebrews 2:18

 

¹⁵ For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. ¹⁶ Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.                       Hebrews 4:15-16

 

So, the next time you’re feeling like, “You’re not you when you’re hungry”, ask yourself this question: is the Lord preparing you for something? Also, keep in mind that he knows what it means to suffer and won’t judge you, but will accept you to “receive mercy and find grace”.

 

Copyright 2022 Joseph B Williams

 

The School of Hard Knocks

A Series on the Milestones in Jesus’ Life

Matthew 3:16-4:11

 (Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%203%3A16-4%3A11&version=NIV;NLT

 

Have you ever experienced the school of hard knocks?

 

 

Maybe you went through a nasty divorce; struggle with an addiction; suffered the death of a loved one; or was fired from your job. When “trials of many kinds” come your way, they can be the school of hard knocks where you learn from the experience and grow in your faith.

 

¹⁶ As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. ¹⁷ And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

4 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. ² After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.   NIV

 

In a way, the baptism of Jesus was his coronation as the King of Kings. It was the commissioning of his ministry. But instead of sending him to the mission field, the Spirit lead him immediately to a place that could easily cause him to fall; to derail his ministry before it even began. He was an easy target for temptation.

 

Verse 2 has to be the biggest understatement in the Bible. After spending forty days and nights without food, Matthew wrote, “He was hungry”. Duh!!! Not only was Jesus hungry, but he had been isolated from others the whole time. He was at his weakest and most vulnerable condition. Why did the Spirit lead him there?

 

Maybe, these forty days in the wilderness were a time of increasing his faith; of coming to maturity; of preparing him for all the struggles that lay ahead. Maybe Jesus was growing in his faith through the school of hard knocks.

 

¹⁵ For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. ¹⁶ Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.                       Hebrews 4:15-16 NIV

 

This milestone in Jesus’ life, makes it possible for us today to approach him with confidence; to experience his strength; to persevere and grow through our own school of hard knocks. This milestone brings us hope.

 

 

 

 

Victory in a Broken World!

Revelation 19:1-8

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation%2019%3A1-8&version=NIV;NLT

 

We live in a broken world!

·         In 2017 Columbus had a record setting number of homicides of 143.

·         Opioid addiction has become an epidemic in the United States.

·         Virtually every day in the news there’s a new revelation about a sex scandal. Most recently, it involved a world renowned doctor who sexually abused young girls.

 

This is a very short list of headliner examples of our broken world. Sometimes we don’t even need to go any further than our front door for an example. Is the world any worse today than the first century when women and children were considered property, temple prostitutes were common place and Christians were martyred?

 

John wrote Revelation from the island of Patmos, a Roman penal colony. While there God spoke to him through an angel in a highly symbolic style.

 

“Praise the Lord!
    Salvation and glory and power belong to our God.
² His judgments are true and just.
    He has punished the great prostitute
who corrupted the earth with her immorality.
    He has avenged the murder of his servants.”           NLT

 

The “great prostitute” that John refers to is symbolic for Babylon which was the political, commercial and religious center of its day. It was also the center of moral decay and decadence. Today, we have our own version of the Great Prostitute still seducing people to do evil.

 

“Hallelujah!” which means “Praise the Lord”, is written four times in these eight verses. Why? Into this broken world, God sent His only son as an innocent baby. How ironic. His son brought the Good News. He brought hope and a future. He brought forgiveness and redemption. Therefore, let us…

 

⁶ …”Praise the Lord!
    For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns. NLT

Hallelujah! The Almighty reigns!

(This link will take you to the song Hallelujah by Cloverton.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbdG-62PE3I