SEGMENTED
STOMACH

Topics: Desires; Hunger; Prayer; Seeking God; Spiritual Disciplines

References: Psalm 42:1; Jeremiah 29:13; John 6:26–27

One night as his family was finishing dinner, Mike Benson noticed six green beans left on his daughter’s plate. Ordinarily this wouldn’t bother Mike, but this night he was irked and said to his eight-year-old, “Eat your green beans.”

“I’m full to the top,” she said.

“You won’t pop,” he responded.

“Yes, I will pop!” she said.

“Risk it!” he said. “It will be OK.”

“Dad, I can’t eat another bite.”

Mike knew the dessert, pumpkin pie squares, was his daughter’s favorite. So he asked, “How would you like a double helping of pumpkin pie squares with two dollops of whipped cream on top?”

“That sounds great!” she said as she pushed back her plate.

“How can you have room for a double helping of pumpkin pie squares with two dollops of whipped cream and not have room for six measly green beans?”

She stood up and pointed to her belly, saying, “This is my vegetable stomach. This is my meat stomach. They are both full. Here is my dessert stomach. It is empty. I am ready for dessert!”

What we eat reveals what we hunger for.

—Phillip Gunter, “Hungry for God,” PreachingToday.com

PART 36: WEALTH AND POVERTY