Did you know that a trip to Krispy Kreme, Duncan Donuts, or John’s Donuts could be a holy and spiritual pilgrimage? It’s all found in one of their traditional offerings: a sufganiyot. Every time you eat one, you are reminding yourself of the miracles of God. It will cost you $1.29 at Krispy Kreme. You can keep reading for free, but it won’t be as tasty.
“Sufganiyot is the Hebrew word for the jelly doughnuts that are traditionally eaten during Hanukkah.”1 Frying foods in oil is a common Jewish practice, giving a nod to the way the Lord miraculously supplied the oil for the rededication of the Temple in the days of the Maccabean revolt. Unfilled dough balls were originally made but someone in the 16th century came up with the amazingly brilliant idea to add fruit jelly filling.
Israel was using food items like this to help establish their identity in the modern era. Each bite was to be a spiritual reminder to them of the provisions of God. However, you know that anything that tastes good is going to catch on rapidly and find a following. Sufganiyot is available year-round. You don’t have to wait for Hanukkah.
Now, I doubt the spiritual lesson of sufganiyot removes the calories, but it certainly provides a way to encourage us to learn some spiritual lessons. What are you filled with today?
A search for the phrase “filled with” brings up several fillings we need. For instance, Ephesians
5:18 says, “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit.” We are to be under the control of the Spirit, dominated by His influence in every area of our life just as the jelly in the donut permeates every bite.
Ephesians 3:19 tells us, “And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.” The best way to explain this is that we are becoming more like Jesus every day. That should be our goal – a Romans 8:29 goal – to be “conformed to the image of His Son.”
In Philippians 1:11, we are told that we should be “Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.” Literally, this is the fruit that righteousness produces. The more we look like Jesus and live our lives for Him, the more righteous fruit that will be produced.
Here’s one more of the many. 2 Timothy 1:4 says, “Greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy.” Being filled with joy sounds like a great way to live! The 
person filled with the Spirit, the fullness of God, and the fruits of righteousness are well on their way to being full of joy.
There are many other things that the Bible mentions that should fill us up. Living full lives for the Lord is the best. My prayer for you and I is that we might be the Lord’s sufganiyot, living out 2 Corinthians 7:4, “Great is my boldness of speech toward you, great is my glorying of you: I am filled with comfort, I am exceeding joyful in all our tribulation.”
1https://www.backthenhistory.com/articles/the-history-of-sufganiyot-jelly-doughnuts
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