Have you ever been really hungry? Most of us in the western world haven’t. But hunger and thirst are natural expressions of the basic human need and desire for food and water. When we don’t have an appetite it is a clear indicator that something is wrong physically with our bodies.
It is the same spiritually. To hunger and thirst for God is the way God has made us. When there is no hunger for the presence of God, it is a clear indicator that something is wrong spiritually. We often snack on food through the day, never really knowing the experience of true physical hunger; likewise we can be prone to snack spiritually. Eating unhealthy snack junk food can dull our physical appetites, just as that which is not of God can dull our spiritual appetites.
Many people search for happiness and fulfilment in any area except in their relationship with God. It may be in human relationships, seeking after power or money, or feeding physical appetites. Even those who know Jesus closely can allow their appetite for God to be dulled by other things…sometimes seemingly “spiritual” things. We can satiate our appetite for God by activities, programs and projects that no longer have at their core a hunger for God.
Being busy for God, is not necessarily being hungry for God!
God wants us to know Him deeply and to be hungry for His presence, and how He is moving in heaven and earth. He wants us to want Him in our lives, and for us to be God chasers. Ask yourself “when was the last time I really sought out and chased after God to know Him more”? When did you last say “bring it on God, whatever you have, whatever you are doing, I want that”?
Sadly many intellectualise, and reason away the deep need we all have to experience and chase after God in all His fullness. God is much bigger than we can possibly imagine, and the depths of who He is we can’t fathom. However He wants to share the mysteries of the universe with us. He wants to have a friendship with us But there is a cost; for when we really hunger and chase after God, others may see us as weird or even fanatical. We each have to decide what is more valuable; to chase after God, or to settle for popular opinion, mindsets and the acceptance of man.
Jesus said “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” (Matthew 5:6).
“On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, ‘If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him’” (John 7:37-38).
Today, stir up your hunger. Don’t snack your way through the day on “junk-food” activities, and then find you have no time to “feast” with God. Don’t snack on that which doesn’t ever truly satisfy. It’s a cheap substitute for the real feast on offer. Jesus says, “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy?” (Isaiah 55:1-2).
Here is a song by Jen Johnson called “Chasing you” to encourage you today: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCGJUcor30M&list=RDaCGJUcor30M
Prayer: Lord let this be my heart’s prayer today, as I chase after you, that I might know you more. “O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you..” (Psalm 63:1). In Jesus Name Amen