21 Jan Anticipation
Read Isaiah 55
My, my, my! How we love the waffles of Belgium, the brötchen in Germany, the sumptuous Korean bakeries (not to mention the goodies created at the Brazilian-Japanese-American fusion bakery operated by our Directors, Cris and Meiko Reyno, in Okinawa, Japan)! How cruel does it seem to begin our 21 days of fasting by focusing on the baked goods that we aren’t supposed to be eating right now? It is so tempting because everyone loves the smell of fresh bread and baked goods, hot from the oven!
There is a well-documented phenomenon called, “the cephalic response” where just the sight of food, and especially the smell of baked goods, raises the blood sugar of an individual. The lengthy scientific explanation for this is summed up in one word: expectation. The memory of having experienced something wonderful before brings about a bodily chemical reaction in anticipation of another experience.
Oh, that we would hunger after God this way! Day by day, He sets out the fresh bread of His presence and calls to us, “You who have no money, come, buy and eat!” The more we taste and see that He is good (Psalm 34:8), the less likely we are to be able to pass by unaffected! In the very moment that the leather-back Bible opens or the words of the Bible app light up, our senses should come alive with eager anticipation. He will speak. He will move. He will heal. He will fill. He will encourage. He will save to the uttermost. The good things He has done before, He will do again! We who have experienced Him time and time again should have the greatest excitement to start this time of fasting and dive deeper into His word. The bread of this world is a perishing delicacy but, truly, nothing on earth satisfies like Jesus!