Hungry

O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. Psalm 34:8

Are you hungry for the things of the Lord?

I recently changed my diet drastically. I reached a point at which I realized ‘something has to give’. I have no desire to become a burden on my kids because I haven’t taken care of myself. If I can put in some effort now, it might lessen the health issues that I have in a few years. What I found was that the more I put good things and right things into my body, the less I thought about and desired the bad things. When I occasionally allow myself a cheat day, I am shocked by how little I am satisfied by things that used to be staples in my diet. My desire for bad foods has been replaced by hunger for healthier choices. It didn’t happen overnight, but when I got used to better food choices, I found that less than healthy foods didn’t even taste as good any more

So it is with spiritual things...

When I was far from God, when I had allowed myself to get outside the perfect will of God and become more interested in the things of the world. I had no desire to study or read God’s word. I had no desire to attend church services or spend time with my brothers and sisters in Christ. The difference I found, however, was that as a Christian who had allowed myself to slide away from things of God, there was an incredible emptiness. I became aware of people actively worshipping with joy in church while I stood there feeling nothing. Church members bragged on sermons that I couldn’t remember a word of… As I wandered far from God, the Holy Spirit living inside of me pushed me back toward a right relationship with the Lord. Unfortunately, I was pretty good at ignoring those nudges, and looking back, it’s easy to see how I did that. I kept busy, too busy. I always had multiple things going on. There was never a minute to sit and reflect or even slow down a bit, the world had my attention and it was loud and boisterous calling out to me, as it does any Christian who takes their eyes off Jesus for a moment.

Hunger can be felt in a multitude of ways. Hunger literally means: to have a strong desire or craving for something. When I became aware of my need to rekindle my relationship with Christ, the only thing I could think of was Psalm 51 and David’s prayer for a return of the joy of his salvation. I didn’t have anything incredible in mind, I just wanted to stop feeling so empty, and to return to a closer relationship with Christ. It felt like I prayed that simple prayer for months. God works in interesting ways, and while I struggled with this situation, I was teaching my Sunday School kids about the Israelites repeatedly coming to God in times of trouble and forsaking Him soon after He rescued them. My kids would ask the most poignant questions: Why do they keep going back to idols after they’ve seen the power of God? Good question… one I could not answer. The Holy Spirit’s drawing power grew heavier as it became obvious that I was basically behaving like the Israelites. I completely knew and understood the goodness of living in a close relationship with Christ, and yet, I had allowed the things of the world to pull me away. I had allowed the idols of the world to capture my attention.

Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts. Jeremiah 15:16

I’ve been to the mountaintop. I’ve heard people say that. I’ve read of people relating times in their lives when they felt immeasurably closer to God. I’ve even had some times like that myself. In this case, I was not prepared for God to answer my prayer the way He did. It blew me away. A fire was kindled in my soul that has changed me. I remember how desperately I loved Him, when I was first saved. How I felt. To return to that has been beyond anything I could have hoped for. Thinking about everything Jeremiah was facing and that he still was full of joy and rejoicing, makes me think, that just maybe I understand that a little bit.

A hunger for the things of God can be transformative. Maybe it is because I had gotten so far from God, maybe this is just a God-given hunger for the Word. Whatever it is, I will rejoice in it, and I’d encourage anyone who asks to begin praying for a similar renewal.

Get hungry.