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to give them their food at the proper time.
When you give it to them,
they gather it up;
when you open your hand,
they are satisfied with good things.
ALL creatures. Humans included!
ALL creatures look to God for what?
…To give them their food at the proper ________ . What goes in that blank?
God gives food to all creatures at the proper time.
This struck me recently. This verse doesn’t say “All creatures look to you to give them the proper food. “Proper” modifies time. “Proper” does *not* modify food.
Why is this significant?
Because in this verse we are told that God opens his hand and we experience:
Satisfaction
Good Things
When?
At the proper time.
This is a concept upon which Thin Within principles are established. God has a time for us to enjoy food!
The point, however, is His goodness, His provision, and HIS timing! It isn’t about “fixing” the food (to make it “better”) or eating the “proper” food. It is about HIS provision of good, satisfying things and my waiting on His timing.
So when is His timing to provide food? Is it when I *want* food because of taste? Or is it only when I am NOT over my “allotment” of _____ (calories, points, blocks, grams, etc.) for the day?
Calorie/point/gram allotments are superficial standards set by humans. These aren’t the standard.
If we look to the wonder of nature (which is the context of this verse), the proper time to receive the good things that God gives to satisfy is when there is a need for fuel–when creatures are hungry. I don’t know of an instance where wild animals have gotten obese, eating food when they aren’t in need of fuel and storing extra fuel as fat on their bodies (unless their environment required it for survival and warmth like Polar Bears, etc.).
God is more interested in the timing of our eating than the what of our eating. We can eat the most nutritionally dense, calorie-light food in the world, but if it isn’t the right time–HIS time–it may be out of His will.
Food was intended to nourish our bodies…to fuel our bodies. When we eat to fuel our bodies, we can delight in amazing textures, sensations, and whatever He provides for us! As we do this with gratitude and a thankful heart, coming from a place of humility, we glorify him as 1 Corinthians 10:13 says, “Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it to the glory of God the Father.”
Is my heart grateful? Thankful? Or resentful and frustrated? I might want to evaluate if I am caught thinking that I can’t have this entrée or that dessert. Am I trapped in the mentality of good food/bad foods? Maybe he wants to break me free so that I can experience the satisfaction he promises in Psalm 104 and elsewhere.
