Feeding the Hungry
Scripture — Isaiah 58:9b-11 (NRSV)
If you remove the yoke from among you,
the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil,
if you offer your food to the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the afflicted,
then your light shall rise in the darkness
and your gloom be like the noonday.
The LORD will guide you continually,
and satisfy your needs in parched places,
and make your bones strong;
and you shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring of water,
whose waters never fail.
Focus
In the time of Isaiah, God promised that if the people of God would feed the hungry and help those in trouble, then “[their] light shall rise in the darkness and [their] gloom be like the noonday” (58:10). To put it more prosaically, if we are committed to feeding the hungry and if we act on this commitment, then we will be blessed by God.
Devotion
The Hunger Project reports that 733 million people on earth are chronically undernourished. According to the United Nations, every day, over 10,000 children die of hunger-related causes. While most people in the United States do not suffer from extreme hunger, millions in this country are unable to afford the food they need to sustain a healthy lifestyle.
As God’s people through Jesus Christ, we cannot ignore the reality of hunger in our world. Nor can we sit by while millions starve. Simple compassion, not to mention Christ-like love, calls us to act.
In the time of Isaiah, God promised that if the people of God would feed the hungry and help those in trouble, then “[their] light shall rise in the darkness and [their] gloom be like the noonday” (58:10). To put it more prosaically, if we are committed to feeding the hungry and if we act on this commitment, then we will be blessed by God.
As Christians band together to fight global hunger, not only will millions receive the help they desperately need, and not only will we be blessed, but also the world will see the light of Christ shining through us. Jesus once said, “No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.” (Matt 5:15-16). Surely, one of these “good deeds” is working to see that the hungry of this world are fed.
Programs that provide food for those who lack it are needed and laudable, to be sure. But we must also find ways to help those who are hungry develop the means to feed themselves. Many Christian organizations, like World Vision, are committed to this kind of hunger relief in addition to feeding those who don’t have the food they need each day. One way we can care for the hungry is by supporting organizations that both feed and empower people to feed themselves.
Reflect
How are you contributing to the effort of God’s people to feed the hungry?
What might you do to be generous with those who require basics like food, clothing, and shelter?
Act
Consider supporting an organization that wisely fights hunger and poverty.
Pray
Gracious God, I must confess that it’s easy for me to neglect the hungry. I can look away when I see them huddled under the freeway overpass. I don’t read many news stories on children dying from hunger. It’s easy for me to be insulated from the reality of hunger in my community, not to mention the wider world. Forgive me, Lord, for my narrow vision, even for my hardness of heart.
Today, I pray especially for your church, that we might be mobilized even more to feed the hungry. Thank you for organizations like Bread for the World and World Vision, which help us to meet human needs effectively. Thank you for thousands of believers throughout the world who are using their knowledge and skills to help the poor overcome poverty. Use their efforts and so many others to bring an end to starvation.
I also pray, Lord, for long-term solutions to hunger, not just temporary fixes. May farmers grow enough food for all the inhabitants of this globe, stewarding well the earth you have entrusted to us. May corporations and governments be guided by your justice. May commerce and micro-business flourish in places of need, so that all people might have stable income and the dignity of work. May your church grow in its care for and empowerment of the poor, so that your light might shine through us into this dark world. Amen.
Find all Life for Leaders devotions here. Explore what the Bible has to say about work at the unique website of our partners, the Theology of Work Project’s online commentary. Reflection on today’s Life for Leaders theme can be found here: Salt and Light in the World of Work (Matthew 5:13-16).
Mark D. Roberts
Senior Strategist
Dr. Mark D. Roberts is a Senior Strategist for Fuller’s Max De Pree Center for Leadership, where he focuses on the spiritual development and thriving of leaders. He is the principal writer of the daily devotional, Life for Leaders,...