He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. …The LORD your God is bringing you into a good land-a land with streams and pools of water, with springs flowing in the valleys and hills; a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey; a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing…Deuteronomy 8:3-9

Waiting for true hunger feels great! God wants us to experience hunger – physiologically, financially, relationally, etc. – so that HE can provide what we truly need. If you are having trouble allowing yourself to get all the way to true hunger, it is a lack in belief in the good nature of God and a lack of trust that He WILL provide for all your needs. Scripture lists the behaviors of unbelievers, such as stealing, cheating, lying, and greed. Why would anyone do these things if they were sure that GOD could provide for them? The unbeliever does not know what a willing Provider and great Protector He is.

When you are not at God’s hunger point but decide to eat anyway, you are being your own boss – you have listened to satan, who tells you that you must be your own provider. On the other hand, when you postpone your own control and relinquish decisions to God, you are trusting God’s timing, waiting for His permission and approval to go ahead, and silently proclaiming to the world that you think God is great!

True hunger is a wonderful experience, but many continually try to buffer this experience by eating before they are hungry, taking diet pills, taking antidepressants, calling in-laws for financial assistance, and so on. They are postponing knowing GOD, and therefore postponing loving and trusting Him more. God wants to feed us with manna, but we must be willing to receive this manna from HIM to fill our voids. If God wants us to hunger, then we should want it, too. Stay in the desert and allow yourself to experience hunger daily. When you get all the way to hunger, you will find that all you need is His love relationship to keep you alive!