Working The Word (Walking Away From Addiction Into The Sweet Arms of Jesus) He Would Have Fed Us His Best

By: Hanny Lynn Stearns

Fish N Loaves Ministries, Inc.

“Multiplying God’s Word Around the Globe”

October 19, 2016

He Would Have Fed Us His Best

Psalm 81:8-14, 16

 “Please test your servants for ten days, and let them give us vegetables to eat and water to drink. 

⁸ “Hear, O My people, and I will admonish you!
O Israel, if you will listen to Me!
⁹ There shall be no foreign god among you;
Nor shall you worship any foreign god.
¹⁰ I am the Lord your God,
Who brought you out of the land of Egypt;
Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.

¹¹ “But My people would not heed My voice,
And Israel would have none of Me.
¹² So I gave them over to their own stubborn heart,
To walk in their own counsels.

¹³ “Oh, that My people would listen to Me,
That Israel would walk in My ways!
¹⁴ I would soon subdue their enemies,
And turn My hand against their adversaries.

¹⁶ He would have fed them also with the finest of wheat;

And with honey from the rock I would have satisfied you.” 

This is one of those passages that the Lord has shown to me time and time again. As I was struggling in my addiction with food and sugar, more the food than the sugar in later days, but still issues with the sweets for sure, He was calling to me from His throne of love and grace to come to Him to get filled. But…as much as I said I loved Him, I would have none of it. That is a tough thing to have to admit, but looking back now, I see it as clear as I see my face when I look in the mirror.

Personally, I have failed many tests with the Lord. Even after He brought me out of the worst possible nightmare I have ever experienced in this life, I have still rebelled against Him. And why? Because I was living more by the desires of my selfish flesh than by the leading of His Spirit. As a result, even as a born-again child of God whom He has loved all along in spite of my rebellion, I have suffered many unnecessary trials. It is painful to even think about, but it is the truth.

In verse 10 there is an open invitation from the Lord Himself. He wants the people to open their hearts up to Him. He is telling them that if they will do this, He will fill them. How many times He has told me this and I did not give this word from the Lord the attention and honor that I should have, I cannot count.

While I was sitting there eating more than I needed (trying to comfort myself), His word was sitting right there opened to this very verse. Time and again He was trying to call me to come to Him and let Him fill up my empty, broken heart. But I was so foolish. I was afraid. I did not really trust Him.  I was rebellious. I did not want to give up my idol completely – not yet. I was holding on to the last shreds of what I could physically touch as a source of comfort, while the only true Comforter was right there in the house with me inviting me to come to Him…

Revelation 3:20

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.

Hmmm. There I was feeling lonely, or sad. And there was the Master. Picture it. He was sitting there in the living room with me; or the kitchen. His heart must have been so sad. While I was trying to put a band aid on a gaping wound, He was sitting there, the Lord of all creation with an abundance of love and rich food for my soul that would have left me overflowing with His goodness and completely forgetting about the natural food. Here is what He tells us in Matthew and Luke, both the same chapter and verse (Do you think He wants us to get it?)… 

Luke 4:4

But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’”

I thought of the many times the Lord had shown me the right way to do something, yet I chose to do it my own way. In the end, it always caused me a problem. Sin always brings death of some form or another.

In continuing our discussion about what Jesus would have done for me when I was trying to fill up my spiritual heart with too much physical food to try to comfort myself like a baby sucking their thumb, the Lord was sitting there waiting to give me His best – the finest food. Oh my. What I must have missed on so many occasions. I was either too busy or I had no real trust in my Savior is what it all boils down to. We have to be honest. What is stopping us from going to the Lord to receive these precious promises He has given us? Why are we reading the verses in church on Sunday and then going right home and forgetting them on Monday through Saturday?

When the Lord tells us in verse 16 that He would have given us the finest wheat, we can think of Jesus – the Bread from heaven. That is like no wheat we will ever find on this planet. No muffin, twinkie, or donut will ever satisfy our hearts like the Bread that comes down from heaven in the desert of our souls. The Lord knows when we are parched in the desert. He knows we need water from the Rock. He knows when we are spiritually hungry and need the only True Bread that will fill us up in our souls.

Why do people go to the refrigerator several times in the day and just open it to look inside? Have you ever done that? I have. They are showing that they are spiritually hungry. They are really not physically hungry but they know they are needing something. They just do not know what. But Jesus knows. Oh yes, He knows exactly which heavenly delicacy will hit the spot. But we have to exit the kitchen and go sit with Him – like Mary did. She didn’t care about the cooking and cleaning. She was hungry for True Bread. We can’t even imagine how full she felt when she left the meeting that day. Praise the Lord!

Can you imagine honey from Jesus to satisfy your sweet tooth?

Psalm 19:8-10

⁸ The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; ^9tThe fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.
¹⁰ More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.

Psalm 119:103

How sweet are Your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!

Proverbs 16:24

Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the bones.

Ezekiel 3:3

And He said to me, “Son of man, feed your belly, and fill your stomach with this scroll that I give you.” So I ate, and it was in my mouth like honey in sweetness.

Luke 1:53

He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty.

How’s that for a heavenly pastry?! Praise the Lord oh my soul! He would give us the best thing and we would be so full we would have to go give some of that sugar to other people. What a deal, as my “sweet” husband would say (pun intended!). This is a good time to tell you that one of the greatest things I have ever discovered about Jesus has been in the past many months since coming to our new church. Jesus is really sweet! I mean really, really sweet!

Have you ever met someone that was so sweet to you that when you walked away all you could say was, “Wow, he/she is so sweet!” Well my friends, if you get to know Jesus more intimately by dining with Him, you will find out just how sweet He is. He is amazing! He is loving. He is so kind. He is everything good! And He is really, really sweet! I know! I have seen it for myself. Hallelujah!

Here is one more verse I was led to show you about God’s word…

Psalm 119:162

I rejoice at Your word as one who finds great treasure.

The treasure every single addict is looking for is found in the presence and the word of God. If one will go to Him with a humble heart and place their full trust in Him and His word by working it – they will only find themselves addicted to one thing – the Bread from heaven. Praise the Lord!