DAY 35

THE HUNGER WITHIN

BENNY MCDANIEL, CHURCH ONLINE & GROUPS PASTOR, THE WOODS CHURCH

Hunger is one of the most natural parts of life. When your stomach growls, it’s a signal that you need food. But here’s the thing: simply recognizing your need for food doesn’t make the hunger go away. Naming it isn’t the same as satisfying it. Hunger, by itself, is never enough—it aches, it lingers, it reminds you of your emptiness. It doesn’t satisfy.

Discipline does.

This same truth echoes into our spiritual lives. Many of us know how to name our spiritual hunger. We recognize our depravity, we see our brokenness, and we admit our need for help. But simply recognizing the problem doesn’t change the circumstance. Awareness without action leaves us in the same place. It’s discipline—the consistent steps of faith, the obedience to God’s Word, the seeking after Jesus—that actually leads us into rescueand renewal.

In John 6, the crowd follows Jesus after He miraculously feeds them. They know they’re hungry again, but Jesus points them beyond their stomachs to something deeper:

Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. John 6:27

Jesus declares that He Himself is the Bread of Life—the one who alone can satisfy the hunger that never seems to go away. Just like eating food requires the action of picking it up and consuming it, experiencing Jesus requires more than recognition. It requires a posture of discipline: to seek, to believe, and to follow.

David captures this beautifully in Psalm 63:

You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where thereis no water.

David doesn’t just recognize his hunger and thirst—he responds to it by seeking God. His discipline is pursuit. His longing moves him to action. He understands that satisfaction is not found in recognizing the ache but in turning that ache into prayer, worship, and trust.

This is where many of us get stuck. We feel the emptiness, but we stop there. We acknowledge the ache, but we don’t pursue the cure. We know we need God, but we don’t discipline ourselves to daily seek Him. And the result is that we stay hungry.

The truth is this: your soul will not be satisfied by accident. It takes discipline to be filled. Discipline to pray when you don’t feel like it. Discipline to open the Word when you’d rather scroll. Discipline to gather with God’s people when you feel tired or distracted. These are the choices that move us from recognition to satisfaction, from hunger to fullness in Christ.

So when you sense the ache of hunger in your life—whether physical, emotional, or spiritual—don’t stop at naming it. Let it drive you into the arms of Jesus, the Bread of Life. Let it push you toward disciplines that bring life. Hunger isn’t the end of the story—it’s an invitation to pursue the One who satisfies.

PRAYER: Jesus, I feel the hunger in my soul today. I recognize my brokenness, but I don’t want to stop there. Lead me into discipline—into prayer, into Your Word, into obedience—that I may be filled with You, the true Bread of Life. Teach me to seek You like David did, longing for Your presence above all else. May my hunger not leave me empty, but instead move me into Your arms, where I find true satisfaction. Amen