What Do You Crave?
by Jilly Lyon-Taylor
I saw an article in The Times newspaper recently about a mother who had been trying to switch her baby from being breast fed to taking formula milk from a bottle. The baby had been exclusively breast fed for several months and he liked it! The mother tried all the ways she could think of to encourage him to take the bottle, but he didn’t like the feel of the teat or the taste of the milk coming out of it. He had tasted the real thing, and that was all he wanted! He therefore stubbornly refused the bottle, screaming and trying to search for the breast.
This reminded me of today’s verse which speaks of the craving that we should have once we have tasted that the Lord is good. That small baby had tasted his mother’s milk, he knew it was good, and he was not going to settle for anything else! In a similar way, once we have tasted of the Lord’s goodness, we should be craving the pure spiritual nourishment that comes from Him alone, and not be satisfied with anything else.
In Psalm 63:3 David declares to God: “Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.” He then goes on to say in verse 5 that his soul will be satisfied as with the richest of fare. The Lord is the only one who can satisfy our deepest longings, and the promise is that He will not only satisfy us but He will fill us to overflowing. It will be as if we have partaken of a feast full of the richest fare! The problem for many of us is that we are not hungry enough! If we have been looking to the world’s pleasures to fulfil us and satisfy us, we will never enjoy the best that God has for us. It will be like coming to a feast after snacking on junk food all day! We need to be keeping our appetite pure and untainted, craving the pure spiritual food that God has for us. Once we have tasted what that is like, why would we settle for anything less?
Prayer: Lord, please forgive me for looking to worldly things to satisfy me. I know that You are the only One who can satisfy my soul. Please give me a longing for the pure spiritual food that comes from You alone, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Jilly Lyon-Taylor is part of the Leadership Team at Ellel Pierrepont. She worked in publishing and then with children in Hong Kong before concentrating on being a full-time mother and serving in the local church. Her desire to see people healed led her to the Luke Nine Eleven Training Scheme(NETS) at Pierrepont, and now she teaches and ministers there.
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