Craving Spiritual Milk

I finally made the decision the other day that I need to really watch what I eat. I think I eat pretty healthy meals, and I don’t over-indulge, but the constant snacking has gotten out of hand. I was having a conversation the other day with a friend about how I always feel hungry. I know I’m not really hungry; I just crave food all the time. I can finish a large meal and a half an hour later I’m craving more food. Dave says I’m addicted to sugar, since what I crave is usually something sweet. I know the craving is completely mental. My problem with this craving is that I usually satisfy it by eating small snacks or little pieces of candy throughout the day. We don’t buy unhealthy foods and we don’t keep “snacky” foods in the house, but I somehow find a way to eat something when I get these cravings. And to some of my friends I must say I AM NOT PREGNANT. I’ve been this way for a long time. And for a long time, I’ve felt innocent about the snacking because . . . well, I just never gained any weight. However, I am now aware that there comes a time when your body no longer wants to put up with the food and it starts to gain weight. Therefore, I have had to make the conscious decision to REALLY watch what I eat (especially because I could become hypoglycemic).

So why I am sharing all this? It has to do with 1 Peter Chapter 2. We’re studying 1 Peter in Small Group, and I read the second chapter ahead of time. I was taking notes and wrote down that 2:2 stood out to me specifically: “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation.” I like the analogies used in Scripture comparing our spiritual growth to infants who need milk before they can begin taking in solid foods. The word in this verse that really struck a chord was “crave”. Here are some definitions for the word “crave”: (1) to long for; want greatly; desire eagerly (2) to require; need (3) to ask earnestly for.

I can’t help but immediately make a connection between craving food and craving God. In my spiritual life, my greatest desire is to have a genuine desire for Him. Often, my prayers are that I will have a hunger for His Word—that I not read the Bible out of mere obedience, but because I want it and need it. It was ironic (or it was from God) that I read about craving spiritual milk (a.k.a. God’s Word) on the first day that I started putting my decision into action. I thought, “How pathetic it is that I have such a strong craving for food, particularly sugar. Just imagine if I had that kind of craving for the Word of God!”

What if I longed to be fed by Him? What if I couldn’t wait? What if I satisfied that craving with a heavy dose of Scripture just to have another strong craving only minutes later? What if I couldn’t get enough? I prayed, “God, make my craving, my desire for You as strong as this.”

It was then that I made another decision. Like the spiritual discipline of fasting (which I myself have never done), I would “stuff” the food craving with God. I would use that moment to meditate on His Word and on Him. Fortunately, I have begun a new discipline of memorizing Scripture. By God’s power, I’ve somehow managed to actually remember them—weeks later! Of course it helps when I actually meditate on these truths. I decided to use this new discipline to distract me from my food and sugar cravings.

My purpose with this whole experience, however, is not to end my food cravings by using Scripture but rather to use my food cravings to teach me about how I am to crave God’s Word. I want to crave it. I want to long for it. I want to want it greatly. I want to desire it eagerly. I want to require it—to need it. I want to earnestly ask for it. I want to “grow up in my salvation”.