What God’s Word Says About Food Mfano

There are times when a warm croissant, a bright bowl of fruit, or a steaming cup of coffee feel like perfect, God-given gifts. There are other moments, perhaps more frequent, when food feels like our enemy and our relationship with it becomes a vortex of regret, frustration, and shame. We read food labels, count calories, and keep lists of favorite recipes, but have you ever stopped to ponder: what does God’s Word say about food? The answer might surprise you. It will certainly delight you. When it comes to what the Bible says about my relationship with food, the footnote to Mark 9:29 offers the two words, “and fasting,” which whet my own appetite to understand. Like the first bite of chocolate cake, these words left me craving more and sent me searching for: * Other passages that call God’s people to fast * Other examples where the Bible uses food to teach us spiritual principles * Other times when God invites His people to feast. . . What I found is that God’s Word is a smorgasbord that truly satisfies. This five-day devotional is intended to help you simply soak in God’s Word and seek to understand His heart for how food and faith intersect. Sip slowly on Bible passages like a perfect cup of coffee. Really chew on the lessons God is teaching you through His Word. After each day’s reading, I invite you to pray with me: “Lord, we’ve set the table. We ask you to bring the feast.” Isn’t that the Christian life in one bite? We do what we can. We bring our best intentions, our brightest devotions, our purest worship to Jesus as acts of setting the table. Then we wait with anticipation for Him to bring the feast, to fill our hearts with His Truth, to fill our homes with life-rhythms that truly honor Him. He always does. He always will. You can set the table right now, by opening your Bible and telling God you want to hear from Him. Abandon your ideas about what your relationship with food is “supposed to be.” Lay down your guilt about what it has not been in the past. And then commit to meet with Him daily for the next few days, expecting to be filled. The Bible celebrates food as a gift while simultaneously inviting us to surrender every area of our lives to Christ’s authority—including what we put on our plates. Rather than the yo-yo of loving food and then hating it, Scripture invites us into a different rhythm—the rhythm of fasting and feasting.