Hangry

Happy Sunday! I hope everyone is having a fabulous weekend. We have been busy over here. Work, church and birthday parties! But I’m back! And not currently “hangry” but how many of you are familiar with that word? I’m sure everyone has experienced it one time or another. It’s a word that describes that moment when you are so hungry you are angry. Hangry! I personally experience this all too familiar phenomenon fairly regularly…. My poor husband! But you know I was thinking that the same feelings we can experience when we are “hangry” for actual food, we can also experience when we are hungry spiritually. Maybe this sounds a little weird, but let me explain.

When our bodies are hungry and have gone too long without eating some sort of food we can experience a multitude of symptoms. Symptoms that affect our mood or thought process. We can become grumpy, irritable, angry, and feel like we can’t focus or think clearly. We have a hard time making decisions when we are hungry. Think about the last time you were with a group of people and you were really hungry and everyone was trying to come up with a place to eat . . . . (This can take FOREVER!) Eventually you get to a point where you can’t make a decision,  because you can’t even really think. You just want to eat! If those symptoms weren’t bad enough, now add in what our body our feels like. It can feel lethargic, shaky, clammy, sweaty. You might get a headache and feel nauseous. You might even pass out. Our bodies are literally crying out for nourishment. It’s letting us know that we have a problem that it wants fixed A.S.A.P. All of these symptoms can escalate very quickly if we don’t fix our problem. The other thing that sticks out to me is that these symptoms aren’t because you haven’t eaten for days or weeks. These symptoms can arise because you haven’t eaten in a few hours. Think low blood sugar. If a person doesn’t nourish their body properly, the ultimate end would be actual physical death.

Now, how does this apply spiritually you may ask. Well, God’s word, the Bible, is often referred to as “bread”. His word and spending time with Him nourishes our spirits and allows us to grow and flourish. Just like food does! Food nourishes our bodies and is needed in order for us to grow and maintain our health. We talked about a few of the symptoms we can experience when we aren’t feeding our bodies, so what can happen when we don’t feed our spirit? We can become angry, bitter, grumpy, irritable. We might not make the best decisions and feel confused, or like we can’t focus or think properly. See some connections? Our spiritual health can decline. We can be sick in our spirit. We can be shaky spiritually. The same symptoms we can experience in our actual physical bodies can be felt on a spiritual level as well, if we lack the proper “nutrition”. Spiritually we might feel lethargic and clammy. If we continue to deny ourselves spiritual food, then we will fail to thrive. Just like our bodies. Then we would meet the same end. We would suffer the death of our spiritual life.

We must feed and nourish our bodies to maintain a healthy physical life, so it makes sense that we need to nourish our spirit to ensure that we have a healthy spiritual life. The good news is that we are in control of how and when we nourish our lives spiritually. God has given us His precious word and it’s up to us to make time to partake of the “bread” He has provided us with.

“Daily bread”. We need to feed our bodies daily. Multiple times in fact. Wouldn’t it be fair to say that we need to feed our spirits daily as well? Perhaps multiple times a day? This also made me think of meal prepping. I don’t personally spend a lot of time planning out what I’m going to eat and preparing it, but some people do. Meal prepping takes a lot of time, effort, and thought. What if we could apply the same amount of energy into preparing and planning out our time with Jesus? If people can dedicate that much time to the nourishment of their bodies, then I should certaintly be able to set aside some time to nourish my spirit right?

I seem to encounter enough opportunities to be “hangry” because I didn’t eat when I should have. I certaintly don’t need to add in being “hangry” because I also failed to feed myself spiritually. Can I get an amen?! (You’re welcome babe 😉 )

God loves us. Each and every one of us. He created us. He knows us. He wants to spend time with us. If you find yourself avoiding Him deliberately just remember that He loves you. No matter what. He doesn’t change. Those promises He made you, the grace, forgiveness and love that He offers is always there. Just make time for Him. Feed your body, feed your spirit.

I hope you have enjoyed this post! I’ll see you back here next week on Royal By Design.