The Altar
For years, I came to God feeling so empty, hungry, and desperate.
I was unaware that spiritual laws governed this natural world.
I would cry out and cry out, “LORD, I’m so hungry….”
I felt as though my cries fell on deaf ears until one day in a way I could hear, He answered.
I’m hungry, not because I don’t eat, but because I fill my soul with lies that there is something this world has to offer that can satisfy that deep longing within me…that there is someone, a human, who can satisfy that deep hunger.
There isn’t.
My hunger will only be satisfied at the altar where I exchange my soulish thoughts, feelings and desires for the meat of doing His will, for the consumption of His Word and for the thirst quenching presence of His Spirit.
I’ve made getting up with the LORD a higher priority this week. I’m so busy and distracted by the cares of this life during the day that we have set our time at 2:15 AM to just BE with each other. To fellowship and to hear each other’s hearts. I thought this was hard because it’s NEVER easy to get out of bed at that hour of the night.
What He showed me is that I’m looking at that hour all wrong. I have been getting up with Him and trying to do a Bible study. Trying to learn and grow. He reminded me that I hold my breath a lot during the days….there are heavy things going on in the lives of many people around me and so at times, I take more shallow breaths, or forget to breathe….This time with the LORD is a beautiful opportunity to exhale.
So this morning when I woke up, over and over in my mind I heard, “LORD, I’m so hungry. I eat and I eat and I’m never satisfied.” I got up and wrote these lyrics. I had AI put it to music. There’s a link at the bottom of this blog for as long as they let me keep it on there.
In the New Testament, the altar represents a shift from a physical, stone structure to a spiritual, internal reality centered on Jesus Christ in the believer’s life. It signifies a place of surrender, sacrifice and communion with God where Christians offer themselves, their praise and their lives as “living sacrifices” like it says in Romans 12:1.
When we lay down our pride and our guilt along with everything else in this world we have picked up to satisfy ourselves, the LORD offers us a beautiful exchange of His life-giving presence.
(The cry of my heart)
I'm hungry, LORD I'm so hungry
I eat and I eat but I'm not satisfied
and I'm hungry, LORD I'm so hungry
I'm hungry, LORD I'm so hungry
I eat and I eat but I'm not satisfied
and I'm hungry, LORD I'm so hungry
Day after day I cry out to you....do you hear me?
Can you hear me? Do you hear me?
I said I'm hungry, I'm so hungry.
I eat and I eat but I'm never satisfied
I'm so hungry, Lord I'm hungry
Will you feed me?
(The LORD’s response)
Day after day, I fill up your plate
but you won't eat, you're not hungry, but your starving
I set the table with bread meat and drink
but you won't eat, you're not hungry, but your starving
I'm hungry,...LORD I'm so hungry
I eat and I eat but I'm not satisfied
and I'm hungry, LORD I'm so hungry
I'm hungry,...LORD I'm so hungry
I eat and I eat but I'm not satisfied
and I'm hungry, LORD I'm so hungry
You crave and consume but you're not satisfied
cause your starving, full and empty. '
You eat and you eat what can never satisfy,
so you're starving, slowly dying,
at my table you sit loudly crying
“LORD I'm hungry, I'm so hungry.”
Your meat, Little One, is to do the will of the Father,
My son is the bread of life, and My Spirit the living water.
I've set the table before you in the presence of your enemies,
but you won't eat, because you're not hungry.
I can only set the table but I can't make you eat.
When you're full of the world, you have no room left for meat.
That's why you're hungry, so very hungry.
You eat food that cannot satisfy
You run to the world when you're hungry and you've consumed the lies.
There's nothing this world offers that can ever satisfy
I'm so hungry!
Come to the altar,
lay down all that guilt and pride at the altar
I'm here waiting.
There is meat at the altar where your needs are satisfied
there is bread at the altar
there is water at the altar
there is meat at the altar
there is bread at the altar
there is water at the altar
come to the altar....
I've listened to this song for a couple hours straight now because my house needs cleaned and it keeps playing on a loop. I don't know why but I can hear it on a loop forever and not get bored but my brain also doesn't hold the words so I can sing it. Go figure!
But after hearing it many times, I'm finally getting its message.
The MEAT, what satisfies, builds and repairs tissue and builds our muscles in this life is not everything we fill our time with but literally ONLY doing the will of the Father…THAT is the meat in this life. When we are not doing the will of the Father our body suffers and we become anemic and brittle in our bones. Meat strengthens our muscles, joints and ligaments. Meat holds things together in our lives.
Jesus, the Word, is the bread of life. Bread gives us energy and sustains that energy. Carbs are the body's primary and preferred source of fuel, providing immediate energy for cells, tissues and organs, particularly the brain!
Spending time in the Word is life giving for our brains!
Carbs are essential for cognitive function and help regulate serotonin, a hormone that helps with mood and sleep. Spending time in the Word helps our sleep and our moods.
Excess glycogen in the liver and muscles for later use... you can't get too much of the Word. It will just be stored up in you for future use!
Dietary fiber which can be found in bread, aids and digestion and promotes satiation and helps maintain a healthy weight. The Bread of Life, Jesus and His Word, help us digest all the garbage the world offers us on a daily basis so our body is able to discard that which is unnecessary.
Without water, we die. Water is ESSENTIAL for life, making up 50-60% of the human body and acting as a critical component in nearly every function including temperature regulation, nutrient transport, joint lubrication and waste removal. It protects tissues, keeps skin hydrated, aids digestion and keeps organs functioning.
The indwelling presence of Holy Spirit should dominate every area of our lives if we want everything to work as it should.
Praise GOD!
“His Word is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12