Holy hunger

But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.”
Then his disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?”
“My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. -John 4:32-34 NIV

This conversation occurred in the region of Samaria. The disciples had gone into town to buy something to eat, leaving Jesus to rest beside a well. While they were on that errand, Jesus had a profound spiritual conversation with a woman who had come to draw water. Breaking multiple cultural customs to bridge multiple societal divides, Jesus spoke truth and gave hope to the woman, and ultimately, to many people from the town where she lived.

The subsequent exchange between Jesus and His disciples did not imply that Jesus didn't need physical food, nor did He suffer from an eating disorder. It pointed to His priorities, a mindset of what was most important to Him. Not a new idea, it shows up repeatedly in Scripture: A hunger for the things of God; indeed, a hunger for God.

"For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
“Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.”
Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty." -John 6:33-35 NIV

When Jesus was being tempted, physically famished from 40 days(!) without food, He stayed on course by reaching back into the Old Testament for this bit of wisdom:
“It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” -Matthew 4:4 NIV

It's certainly not a hunger that will go unsatisfied:
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. -Matthew 5:6 NIV

And just guessing here, but I suspect the poet had more than groceries in mind when he recorded these words:
I am the Lord your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it. -Psalm 81:10 NIV

All that said, I must confess I eat too much. By that I mean I don't think I've ever practiced the spiritual discipline of fasting much beyond the point of realizing, "Oh man, I am REALLY hungry!" And it's probably time I did. Again, it's a question of priorities. What would the Spirit teach me about disciple-being and disciple-making and the relationship between the two (or are they really one and the same?) if I practiced making that holy habit a habit of mine? Not suggesting what anyone else should or shouldn't do here, just curious. Is it MY FOOD to do His will and finish His work in my life?

Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare. -Isaiah 55:2 NIV