HUNGER POINTS.

Matthew 4:2 is a verse that sets the premise for one of the most momentous points in the life of our Lord Jesus Christ. Having fasted forty days and forty nights, going without food, the Bible says that He was hungry.

It was from this point of hunger that the enemy launched his first customized attack. The nature of hunger is that it creates vulnerability in us. Knowingly or unknowingly man will almost do anything to satisfy his hunger. This does not apply only to physical hunger, but also to emotional, psychological, and spiritual hungers. It is from these hunger points that the devil attempts to manipulate our lives and outcomes.

Remember Esau? Hungry to the point of death, he forfeited his birthright. Remember the Egyptian servant in 1 Samuel 30, who, after receiving water and bread, revealed the secrets of his former master. What of the prodigal son who was reduced to eating pig pods because of severity of his hunger? Points of hunger make us vulnerable and susceptible to demonic manipulation and exploitation. 

Some of us are living messy lives and making mistakes because we are being influenced or driven by our hunger points. Addressing our hunger points is important if we are to live meaningful lives.

How To Deal With Hunger Points.

1. Recognize your hunger points.

You cannot deal with an enemy you do not know. Some of us live our lives from our hunger points, yet we do not realize it. Sit with the Holy Spirit and allow Him to reveal those points to you. These could be emotional hunger for affection, validation, or companionship; hunger for financial security; hunger for love; and more.

“Search me, O God, and know my heart…  Psalm 139:23

2. Acknowledge your hunger points.

It is one thing to be aware of hunger points and another thing to acknowledge them. Some of us know our hunger points but refuse to be honest about them before God. We forfeit healing when we hide rather than acknowledge our hunger points. Notice that Jesus did not deny the fact that He was hungry. He did not argue with the devil over His hunger. He argued that He would not live based on His hunger.

There is a Swahili saying: mficha maradhi kilio kitamuumbua meaning that whoever hides a disease will eventually be exposed by its pain.

3. Ask the Holy Spirit to fill these hungers.

Allow the Holy Spirit to be your first resource, the place from which you seek fulfillment and satisfaction. Of His fullness there is no end. Whatever your hunger, He has the exact supply to satisfy it. Trust Him to brood over your hunger gaps and release divine substance to fill you.

“If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink… " — John 7:37

4. Saturate yourself with God’s Word.

Be filled with the Spirit-breathed Bread of Life. Let His Word become sweetness to your soul and healing to your bones. Allow it to saturate the holes in your heart, bringing filling and mending.

“Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart.” — Jeremiah 15:16

For man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of Elohim.

Beloved, your hunger points do not have to become your breaking points. The very places where the enemy seeks entrance are the same places where God desires to release fullness. What you surrender to the Spirit cannot be exploited by darkness. When God becomes your satisfaction, manipulation loses its power.

Shalom.