Carrie Baker – The Growth Collective

Today, you are invited to a banquet. When you hear the word banquet, perhaps you imagine long tables laid with food, joyful chatter, and the clinking of cutlery as people feast and celebrate together. Guests leave full – body and soul satisfied. 

The Bible speaks of a Great Banquet still to come, when we will join the Lord at His table in the Kingdom of Heaven. But even now, in the waiting – in the “now and not yet” – we are invited to come and be filled.

Maybe you’ve come through a busy season, giving out again and again. You lead, serve, care, love, support, and carry the weight of many things. But if you’re honest, perhaps you’ve been trying to pour from an empty place.

Our energy isn’t limitless, yet our culture often tells us to keep going – because we are capable, efficient, and if we’re really needed, be available. But spiritually, when we don’t take time to refill, we begin to run on empty. The Lord longs to fill those deep places again, to refresh and sustain us from the inside out.

Psalm 63:1–5 captures this internal longing beautifully:

“You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water…
I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods;
with singing lips my mouth will praise you.”
Psalm 63:1–5 (NIV)

David knew both emptiness and fullness. He knew that satisfaction comes not from striving, but from seeking God Himself.

Running on Empty

The Lord once gave me a vivid picture of what it looks like when we try to live and serve from an empty place, imagine the food here being what we need spiritually:

Imagine a woman in a busy season. She’s constantly rushing; family, work, ministry, life. She knows she needs to spend time being filled by the Lord, but can’t seem to find the time. So, she pulls into the nearest drive-through, desperate for something quick to keep her going. She eats in the car, distracted and hurried, barely tasting what she consumes. It fills her stomach for a moment, but not for long.

Some seasons feel just like that. Spiritually, we’re snatching moments with God – fast-food encounters that sustain us briefly but never deeply. Quick podcasts, distracted devotionals, or a snippet of a sermon on social media can all help, but they can’t be our only source of spiritual nourishment.

In the beginning, back in Eden, God designed us to walk with Him in the garden He created for us. That longing still beats within us today – the need to dwell in His presence, not just rush past it. 

Jesus said:

“I am the Bread of Life. Come every day to me and you will never be hungry. Believe in me and you will never be thirsty.”
John 6:35 (TPT)

Jesus invites us to come every day. Yet sometimes, we’re only living off the crumbs that fall from the bread of other people’s revelations, second-hand encouragement, borrowed faith. Those things can inspire, but they can’t replace what we receive when we go to the Bread of Life Himself – Jesus.

An Invitation to Feast

The Lord also showed me another picture, a contrast to the first. This time, picture a woman who has learned to prioritise her time with Jesus. She has a date in her diary – a reservation at a table already prepared. She isn’t desperate or depleted; she’s sustained enough to come with anticipation.

When she arrives, Jesus is waiting for her. They linger over the meal – conversations deepen, and her soul begins to rest. By dessert, she feels whole again. Sitting with Jesus is exactly what she needed.

This is what we are invited into: not a rushed meal grabbed on the go, but a lingering feast in His presence.

Even Jesus Himself modelled this rhythm. The Scriptures tell us that He often withdrew to solitary places, to be with the Father. If the Son of God needed that kind of time, how much more do we?

Moses and Elijah were both called up the mountain to meet with God. It wasn’t a quick climb or an instant revelation. They had to make the arduous trek to get there, and then wait for the Lord to speak. And often, that’s where we meet and encounter Him, when we’ve made space to wait, to rest, and to listen.

“Behold, I’m standing at the door, knocking. If your heart is open to hear my voice and you open the door within, I will come in to you and feast with you, and you will feast with me.”
Revelation 3:20 (TPT)

This is the invitation – to feast with Jesus. To be filled, refreshed, and made whole in His presence.

From Snacking to Feasting

Perhaps you recognise yourself in both pictures: seasons where you’ve survived on crumbs, and moments when you’ve feasted deeply in God’s presence. We all do.

But the Lord is inviting us to prioritise being with Him, to move from snacking to feasting – because only He can truly satisfy, and give us all we need to live the life He calls us to.

He knows the plans He has for us, and He wants us to walk in them from a place of fullness, not depletion. Our intentional time with Him – however long or short, becomes the well from which everything else flows.

“Give us today day our daily bread….” Matthew 6:11 NIV

That prayer isn’t only about physical sustenance – it’s also about spiritual provision. Each day, Jesus offers Himself as our portion. He is the bread of life, the One who fills and satisfies our souls.

So today, hear His gentle invitation again: Come and eat. Come and be filled. Step away from the noise, sit at His table, and let Him replenish you.

Because when we live from a place of fullness in Jesus, there will always be more than enough to pour out – again and again.

As we end this time together, take a few minutes to go a little deeper and think over or journal your thoughts on these four questions: 

1. Can you recognise the seasons in your life when you’ve survived on crumbs instead of sitting at the table with Jesus? How was that for you?
2. What kinds of “fast-food” substitutes might you be reaching for when you feel depleted?
3. What would it look like, practically, to make space this week to linger with Jesus – to feast rather than snack?
4. What would it look like for you to be living from a place of fullness, in the way you serve, love, and lead others?

I hope this has been a timely reminder that you aren’t designed to be self sufficient, but to keep going daily to the only one who can satisfy the deepest places within you. 

Until next time friend,

Carrie x

P.S Before you go: Come and join the community, and receive weekly encouragement and love in your inbox from me – absolutely no spam here! You can sign up here!

If you enjoyed this blog post, or felt encouraged and inspired, you can show me by:

1. Sharing it on your socials or with a friend.

2. You can tell me by leaving a comment or popping me an email (carrie@thegrowthcollective.world).

3. Or you can fuel my writing day and love me with coffee here!

Choose to read another blog post here -> READ ME!

See you soon.