David in his Psalms opined that the Lord is his shepherd and he shall not want. There is immense meaning to it. It cancels out all worries, fears and doubts. Like a shepherd the Lord was with him in all his days. He taught him, fed him and kept him. With the Lord on his side he was at peace. Many troubles appeared, but He removed them all. David was a man who fixed his eyes on the Lord alone and not on men or on circumstances. He did not depend on times; nor did he trust seasons. He made the Lord his true companion throughout his days. The same Lord has come in the flesh and revealed Himself as One in whom we can undoubtedly find confidence and strength. He said, “‘I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst’” (John 6:35).
The life that Jesus gives no man or thing can give. For the life He gives is of joy, peace and comfort. No matter the times and seasons He gives them to us. As the Bread of life He continually pours His strength into us to uplift and satisfy our soul. Every time we choose to go to Him He accepts us. He feeds us with His will, views and ways. In them we will never hunger or thirst. The simple act of believing in Him can make us live lively throughout our days. The Word He gives to feed on allows for all these to take place. Then, it will not be necessary for us to run to places or people to quench our needs. We can be absolutely sure that wherever we are the Lord is with us to provide us and make us feel safe.
The idea of never going hungry or thirsty is unfathomable, to say the least. The more we realize it the more we enjoy it. In every matter we can see it. And there are ways to realize it exponentially.
1. Imitate the apostle Paul. He said, “But this I admit to you, that according to the Way which they call a sect I do serve the God of our fathers, believing everything that is in accordance with the Law and that is written in the Prophets” (Acts 24:14). We are not to believe in just some parts of the Word concerning God and Christ, but in everything about them and their promises in it. Place no prejudices or reservations in the Word. A way to do it is by removing all personal motives and rigidity from within us. When we serve the Lord in the manner He appointed us, we ought to do it by believing everything concerning Him. This sometimes would mean doing nothing, but trusting Him to act on our behalf. We have to trust He heard our supplications and wait on Him, i.e. spend time in trusting Him by all that we learned of Him from the Word. Then, He comes to our aid remarkably.
2. Have a good work. It is necessary that we have a good work from the Lord. Whatever it is, it must be of Him. In performing it He establishes our life. As we prove trustworthy, He appoints more works to us. When God created us anew in Jesus, He did it with a view to appoint us good works. By having them we do not deviate from His path. Paul at one place said that we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. Many miss them by not having chosen the Lord as their true companion. By having them we can surely realize the notion of not going hungry or thirsty. In other words, we do not become disappointed. And the reason is the following. “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus” (Phil. 1:6). He who appointed us a work will shepherd us to fulfill it.
3. Avoid ignorance. Peter says, “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance” (1 Pet. 1:14). When men and women separate themselves from obeying the Lord, the spirit of ignorance seeps into them. Ignorance is not bliss in this case. It is rather misery. For the hunger and thirst that they desire to escape falls on them. Life runs out of solutions; finding answers becomes difficult. Disobedience lays the kind of mask that allows them to do the things they did in ignorance while with the knowledge of God. Hence, it becomes doubly wrong to become ignorant. Obedient children always obey with a view to never hunger or thirst. They fear and dislike facing the contrary.
4. Have control over self. “And the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets” (1 Cor. 14:32). We are all called to do good and much more, to bring glory to God. We are not to be a people that cause confusion. If we truly desire to serve the Lord and nothing else, we calm our spirits to let Him perform His will in us. Being gifted by the Lord is a privilege; it is also essential. But practicing self-control in using the gift causes untold good. Again, by having control over self we can know our obedience to the Lord. We can know whether we are sustaining the good work He gave us in a manner He desired. Lack of control over self actually misses the substance of the gift or the good work and yields unsavory results.
5. Conform to God’s will. Peter said the following to the Jewish Christians that demanded circumcision in the gentile Christians. “Now therefore why do you put God to the test by placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?” (Acts 15:10). We ought not to go beyond that which God asked. Acting contrarily happens by having prejudices or reservations in the Word. Testing the Lord to satisfy our interests and opinions brings in us callousness. Such a state distances us from enjoying the profundity of going to Him and believing in Him.
6. Listen to Jesus. “As He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting in the tax booth, and He said to him, ‘Follow Me!’ And he got up and followed Him” (Mark 2:14). From that time on Matthew never stopped listening to Him. His listening was so intimate he was able to write the gospel of Jesus Christ according to all that God revealed to him through the Spirit. We must always keep our ears open to what the Lord may have to say to us. Or else, we will miss His will, views and ways. Following Him is not only an act of obedience, but an act of wisdom that senses a bright future. Once we heard Him from the Word and followed Him, the same should be our practice for all matters; we should never let go of that experience. Then, the joy of not going hungry and thirsty will be ours.