Sunday, April 26, 2009

Hungry?

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness for they will be filled” Matthew 5:6 (NIV)

What does it mean to hunger?

 According to the Apple dictionary, it means –to have a strong desire or craving

  We all know the sense of hunger.  We all get it at one point or another.  Some get it more than others.  We all have that point in a day where we can hear our stomach telling us to get some food to satisfy our needs.  It tells us that we need some sustenance to put in our bellies to give us energy to burn and the vitamins and minerals that we need to continue living. 

  Once you feel this hunger, what do you do? You will more than likely find something to eat, and eat it.  It’s really not that difficult of a concept.  When you are hungry, eat some food! 

  Though this may seem quite simple, many Christians lose this understanding when it is applied to spiritual matters.  Oftentimes, we as Christians cry out to God, “We are hungry for You.  We crave Your presence.  We want to see Your face.” Now inherently, this is not a bad thing to tell God.  It is imperative that we discuss with God our desires and our hearts cry.  These statements become a problem when the hunger stops there.  If a Christian cries out to God that they are hungry for Him, but spend no time in His word, how do they expect God to fill them.  That might work for babies.  All they have to do is start crying and they are fed.  However, we are not babies forever(thank the Lord!)  We eventually learn how to feed ourselves.  We learn how to use utensils that help us eat more effectively.

It makes no logical sense for a hungry person to not eat food that is provided for them.  It would be pure stupidity.  Yet we as Christians do that exact thing!  We hunger but when we are provided with food, we don’t eat and continue to tell of our hunger. 

 Matthew 6:33 (NLT) “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”

  The wise thing to do in this situation is to take the food we have been given, the word of God.  If we hunger for God’s presence, we should read the book that describes his presence in a million different ways through a million different people.  If we wish to see his heart, we should read the book full of people moved by God’s everlasting love and eternal faithfulness. 

  The best part of this is that once you start feasting on who God is and how He moves, your appetite only becomes whetted.  What you thought beforehand would satisfy your desires, only leaves you begging for more!  You just want to eat and eat.  This is how it should be.  Us spending our time every day in God’s word and in fellowship with Him.  Talking with Him. Praising Him.  Worshipping Him.  Loving Him.

  When I was a growing lad, my mother always called me a bottomless pit, because I ate so much.  My eating habits have since changed as I have grown wiser about the care of God’s temple, but that is what our spirit man should be.  We should be bottomless pits in the spirit.  Always getting more of the word and God’s presence. 

 In summation:

If you are hungry, then eat.  If you want to see God, open your eyes and look at Him.  He’s everywhere.  Don’t let the confines of religion make this more complicated than it is. 

 My prayer to day is this:

 That I never quit spending time with God and that I grow closer to Him daily.  That I eat when I am hungry and that I open my eyes when I need to see.

 

P.S.  Just in case you didn’t realize this, God is an awesome God.  He supplies your every need, He protects you from danger, and He loves you with such an insurmountable love that no human mind can comprehend the depth or power of it (by their own power).  Ephesians 3:18


God Bless You!

3 comments:

  1. great stuff! further thoughts @ sterlingandtopaz.blogspot.com.

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  2. mmmm.... sustenance.

    haha that's great Dave!
    and I completely agree bro.

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  3. Well said my amigo!

    And it looks like you haven't posted in two months, teach us more sensei.

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