If a person is neither feeding, digesting, nor hungering, he is in an unhealthy condition; if he feeds, and the process of digestion follows in natural order, he hungers again.
Just so it is with things of God and the child of God, and in order to health, each of these three operations has its proper time and place. A man that eats nothing must sink in decay, while another who cannot digest his food suffers from a train of attendant maladies; not one of the least (because of the bad effect it has around) is discontent; he is discontented with himself, and with all about him. So it is with divine things; if I cannot digest what I have taken, the food does me no good; not that the fault is in the food, it is in myself.
A hungry man does not find fault with his food, because he is hungry, and the plainer the food, the more easy it is of digestion, and even a crust is acceptable to a hungry man. To be complaining of my food is neither hungering, digesting, nor feeding; and a Christian in a healthy condition of soul himself, will not be finding fault, with others, or with the meetings, but he will be helping them both by the flow of health in himself.
It is not a sign of a healthy state for the appetite to need “pampering” or for us to desire that the manna should be made up into pleasant morsels by natural skill. (See Num. 11.) It is a sign of health to be hungry, and the soul that digests most regularly is the one you will most frequently find hungry again.
If you see a Christian who is never hungry, may you not conclude that something is wrong? If all were right would he not digest? Would he not hunger again and again And if we are in secret with God, we shall be found where food is dispensed. It is only such souls that “grow,” according to 1 Peter 2:2, 3; and only such help others.
The manna was to be gathered each day. Your supplies must come directly from the Lord Himself, and what you were supplied with yesterday gives you no power for today, and if the Lord did supply us with more than was necessary for each day, we would immediately become independent of Him; it would take us out of the path of faith. He does not do this; He will have us dependent on Himself.
This world is as really destitute of food in itself for the redeemed, as was the wilderness for Israel; hence the need of “bread from heaven.” As Israel needed the manna, so do you and I need a daily supply. Be careful that you do not loathe this “light food”; if you do, be assured that your heart has already gone far into the land where you will presently be – ”among the fleshpots of Egypt,” where you may, alas! “eat bread to the full,” but where all you get can only minister to and nourish the flesh.
“As the living Father hath sent Me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth Me, even he shall live by Me. This is the bread which came down from heaven” (John 6:57-58).