Is Your Soul Hangry?

The word hangry was officially added to the Oxford Dictionary in 2018. The word became “popular” in 2008 during an Internet conversation; however, one could argue that while the word hadn’t entered popular linguistics before 2008, the definition had been known and experienced long before. Officially, hangry is defined as “bad-tempered or irritable as a result of hunger” (Oxford Dictionary). Honestly, we have all likely been there. Moments where our output is overwhelmed by the lack of nutrition, sustenance, and calories. What we would do at that moment for a taco! 

Hunger and thirst are important signals that remind us that food and water are critical to our very existence. When we find ourselves in a state of hunger or thirst, it is really hard to shake. Our minds, bodies, and emotions are triggered by every faint smell and tummy rumble. We cannot escape the knowledge that we are lacking and in need of food right N-O-W!!! Hence, when the hangry part comes into play. 

Recently, I was thinking through hunger and thirst in relation to Psalm 42. The author, likely David, utilizes the metaphor of hunger and thirst to correlate his deep desire for God. In the Psalm, he states that his soul is thirsty for the living God (vs. 2). Immediately, the reader finds out why David appears to be writing with such angst and urgency. He is in dire need. His circumstances are bleak, explaining that his food has been his tears and his mood has been downcast (vs. 3 & 5). 

When hardships hit and assaults prevail, do we not find ourselves in desperate need for God? There is nothing like the presence of pain to lead us to a realization that we have a deep hunger for His presence of peace. 

Physical hunger and thirst are linked to both necessity and longing. We need nourishment; it is a necessity for healthy living. When we have an absence of nutrition or hydration, our body and mind deeply longs for it. The same can be and should be said of our relationship with the Lord.

 Jesus is necessary. Our very existence is because of Him and our eternal existence comes through Him. With all we face in the broken here-and-now, we must recognize that Jesus is essential in our daily operations.  If we have been too preoccupied, too distracted, or too distant to recognize His sovereignty, have we not seen the repercussions of the divide? We need Him the same way that the deer needs the running stream (vs. 1). Without His living water, we are parched, desperate, and desolate in our desert. Like David in Psalm 42, circumstances and trials can be our signal, our reminder, that we are not capable on our own (vs. 6). The absence of good tends to be the most poignant reminder that we are all in need of a good God.

Our souls long for Jesus. Whether or not we are always aware of it, our souls have a longing for the Savior. The character of God draws us to Him; our souls are attracted to His authenticity, His authority, and His acceptance. We can deny our soul what it longs for, but we will then experience a hangry soul. Irritability will bubble and we will find ourselves in opposition to ourselves: a soul that longs for Him versus a will that bends towards selfishness and hedonism. Instead of bowing to our desires, we can choose to revel in the hope and comfort He provides. Our soul will thrive in the sustenance that Jesus willingly gives. 

In the darkness of your trial, present or past, you have felt the pangs of hunger. You have found yourself parched and dehydrated. Complaint and fatigue have cast their shadows and you stand in the presence of dismay. Like David, your pain pulsates reminders that this here-and-now is rigid, raw, and real. Sugar-coating is a thing of the past…this thing that you face just sucks. 

Yes, it does. But it doesn’t have to suck the life out of you. 

Let the pain be a signal. Just as your hangry emotions signal the need for physical nutrition, may the hard circumstance remind you of your need for spiritual nutrition through Jesus. Permit your soul to call out to Life and then be receptive to the soul sustenance that the Spirit supplies. 

David illustrates how the anecdote for a hangry soul is the spiritual wellness that comes through prayer and praise. Through his written words we see that his aching soul was sustained by the hope of God, even in his bleak reality and deep dismay:

​​Deep calls to deep
    in the roar of your waterfalls;
all your waves and breakers
    have swept over me.
By day the Lord directs his love,
    at night his song is with me—
    a prayer to the God of my life. (Psalm 42: 7-8 NIV)

Today, may the deep waterfalls of grace sweep over you. May you be drenched in the waters of His love. May your troubles drown in the waves of His mercy. May your soul hear the song that the Lord sings over you and may you hum along as you wade through your troubles. May you feel the prayers of God wash over you and, even in the night, may you know His profound presence. May the presence of your pain be a signal that you have an unrelenting need for Jesus and may your soul be ready to receive the unrelenting love of the Savior. 

In closure, I want to encourage you to read the entirety of Psalm 42 in the VOICE translation. The vernacular expresses David’s thoughts in a way that likely parallels our honest feelings regarding our personal circumstances.

1 My soul is dry and thirsts for You, True God,
    as a deer thirsts for water.
2 I long for the True God who lives.
    When can I stand before Him and feel His comfort?
3 Right now I’m overwhelmed by my sorrow and pain;
    I can’t stop feasting on my tears.
People crowd around me and say,
    “Where is your True God whom you claim will save?”
4 With a broken heart,
    I remember times before
When I was with Your people. Those were better days.
    I used to lead them happily into the True God’s house,
Singing with joy, shouting thanksgivings with abandon,
    joining the congregation in the celebration.
5 Why am I so overwrought?
    Why am I so disturbed?
Why can’t I just hope in God?
    Despite all my emotions, I will believe and praise the One
    who saves me and is my life.
6 My God, my soul is so traumatized;
    the only help is remembering You wherever I may be;

From the land of the Jordan to Hermon’s high place
    to Mount Mizar.

7 In the roar of Your waterfalls,
    ancient depths surge, calling out to the deep.
All Your waves break over me;
    am I drowning?
8 Yet in the light of day, the Eternal shows me His love.
    When night settles in and all is dark, He keeps me company—
    His soothing song, a prayerful melody to the True God of my life.
9 Even still, I will say to the True God, my rock and strength:
    “Why have You forgotten me?
Why must I live my life so depressed, crying endlessly
    while my enemies have the upper hand?”
10 My enemies taunt me.
    They shatter my soul the way a sword shatters a man’s bones.
They keep taunting all the day long,
    “Where is He, your True God?”
11 Why am I so overwrought,
    Why am I so disturbed?
Why can’t I just hope in God?
    Despite all my emotions, I will believe and praise the One
    who saves me, my God.

May your spiritual hunger and thirst be met in Jesus Christ this week. Until next time my friend,