October 26

All creatures look to You to give them their food in due season. — Ps 104:27 BSB

The “food” that God’s children long for is to have “the truth as it is in Jesus” revealed with power to their hearts. It’s not enough to simply see a truth in God’s Word; that’s like a hungry beggar looking at a delicious meal through a window but being barred from it. Such a sight only whets the appetite rather than satisfies it. What God’s people hunger for is to have the truth of Jesus manifested, revealed, and applied to their souls with power. They long for the truth to come with the dew of the Spirit, with unction, savor, sweetness, life, light, and liberty. This is the heavenly manna that truly feeds their souls.

It’s not enough for the Holy Spirit to create the appetite; He must also overshadow the soul with His divine presence, breathing a heavenly savor, and filling the heart with a sense of His nearness. This brings about a melting of the heart at the feet of Christ, drawing forth affection to God, and allowing the soul to receive and enjoy the sweetness and savor of the truth.

“You give them their food.” This isn’t something we can simply take from the Bible just because we read it; it’s not something we can grasp from a minister just because we hear it; it’s not something we can extract from books. It must be given by the holy hand of God Himself and received in a posture of humility, like a penitent sinner at the foot of the cross, with nothing to offer but wounds, guilt, and condemnation.

But there is a due season—“You give them their food in due season.” Many living souls hunger for divine blessings, but their “due season” has not yet come. “The times and seasons the Father has put in His own power.” You may not yet be ready; the Lord may need to bring you lower, leading you through darker paths and sorer trials. There is a fitting time for the manifestation of gospel blessings—a time known by the Searcher of hearts. And He knows that many in His Church are not in a state to receive His richest blessings yet. But when the “due season” arrives, it will meet all your needs and be most glorious to God. It will likely come when you least expect it, after the promise has been delayed for so long that it seems like it will never come, and the blessing has been withheld so long that it feels as though the Lord has hidden Himself behind a dark cloud.

But the “due season” will surely come. “Though the vision tarries, wait for it, because it will surely come, it will not delay.” There is a “set time to favor Zion,” and when that time arrives, the Lord will build up Zion and appear in His glory, for “He will regard the prayer of the destitute and not despise their prayer.”