Proverbs 10:3 Meaning: the hunger of the righteous & the craving of the wicked

Searching for Proverbs 10:3 meaning? Here’s a commentary on what the passage means, along with application and appropriate prayer.

Introduction

Before getting into the meaning of Proverbs 10:3, here’s different Bible translations:

King James Version

American Standard Version

World English Bible version

Proverbs 10 3 Meaning & Commentary

The Bible is clear – God cares for those who belong to him and will look after them. We see this common theme throughout scripture; those who belong to God are cared for by God himself, just the same as any parent should desire to look after their own earthly kids, so God desires to look after us.  The only “requirement” to this promise is to be “righteous”. Now, we know that we are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus, as we see in 2 Corinthians 5:21 – For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Therefore, as we are in Christ and the righteousness of God, we know this verse is speaking to believers, and what a wonderful promise it is. The Bible tells us that even our desires are important to God, not only our most basic needs as we see in Psalms 37:4 – Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.                                           

If God then is interested in our desires, how much more would he take care of our basic needs and hunger? Hunger can be looked at in multiple ways here. Firstly, actual hunger, as in needing food to eat, which speaks about our basic needs in life, however, hunger can take on multiple meanings. One could be “hungry” to start a new job, take on a new challenge, or put your hands to doing something for God. Proverbs 10:3 goes on to say that God thwarts the craving of the wicked.

Now, there is a difference between “hunger” and “craving” in this verse. If someone says they are hungry and need to eat, that is a normal desire, however, if someone states that they are craving something, it usually means that what is being craved is something unhealthy, such as power, or even unhealthy food. This word used here, therefore, illustrates an unhealthy desire, one which The Bible tells us that God thwarts. God has a unique way of bringing the plans of evil men to nothing – Thwarting their plans, as the Bible tells us in the book of Job 5:12 – He thwarts the plans of the crafty so that their hands achieve no success. 

Application

How then can Proverbs 10:3 be applied to our lives, practically?

We can be confident to put our trust in God that he will take care of our needs and our healthy desires. Knowing that we are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus, we can be sure that God is watching over us to keep us and care for us! We can also rest assured that even though wicked men and women may seem to be getting what they “crave”.

God is thwarting their evil plans and cravings! We are to also examine what is in our hearts and discern whether it is a righteous desire we have, or whether it is an unhealthy craving and trust God to place his godly desires and hunger inside of us to do his will and care for us. We know that Jesus was not only sustained by his Father providing for him naturally, but also by doing his Father’s will, which he likened to food, as we see in John 4:34 – Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.

As we walk with God, we can be assured that he will see to it that every hunger we have will be met by Him, because of our right standing through Jesus Christ! 

Prayer

Heavenly Father, I come to you in the name of Jesus Christ, and I thank you that my righteousness is not dependent on who I am, but on what your Son, Jesus Christ has done for me. Therefore, knowing that I am in right standing with you, I thank you that you will see to it that I do not go hungry; physically, spiritually, or in any other way.

I pray and ask that you would protect me from those who do not know you, who may be craving to carry out evil, and that you would cause them to know and experience your love. I pray this all in Jesus Christ’s mighty name, Amen!