Hunger and Hope

In one of my sociology classes in college, I stumbled upon a quote by a French philosopher. I can't remember his name nor the exact quote, so I'll paraphrase it here the way my brain translated it that day in class. He said--There is a void inside of every man that can only be filled by God. I've never forgotten that saying, and now, as I sit here writing, it has come to my mind again.

I started thinking about hunger — more specifically, the hunger mankind has for God. I think that without all of us realizing it, we do hunger for Him in some way or another. It's a void, a hole, a deep yearning for something missing, and until we find it, or until he finds us, we seem to walk around, sometimes stumbling, empty and blind.

I'm wondering now whether, during that time of emptiness, we become bitter towards the God we seek out? It would not surprise me, really, because even though I claim to have a relationship with God and I believe in him and who he is with my whole heart, I have gone through times of bitterness when things aren't going the way I've planned. I have walked around feeling as though I've been deserted by my creator, and I have been left to crumble and die all by myself--all alone. I cry and wail, and before too long, bitterness begins to grow like a weed. That bitterness is scary to me. Much like a weed, it needs to be pulled as soon as possible.

And thankfully, after a time, I come to my senses and go before God with a little tiny spark of hope and a great big heart of remorse. I ask Him to forgive my bitter heart, to once again fill that void, and to give me hope. I just need a little bit — maybe just the size of a mustard seed. That's small. Maybe because I realize that the void in my heart might have only been just that small, to begin with, but then, because of my unbelief, it grows almost out of control.  But when he hears my cries, he comes to my rescue, and he fills my heart once again with hope--my life turns sweet.

The void disappears, and His love, forgiveness, and grace flood in, and I forget all about the emptiness.  All I feel is Him, living in my heart once again. His arms around me, holding me and promising me that He is my hope, my future, my sweet life.

In hunger, there is bitterness; in hope, there is sweetness.