Hungry for the Things of God

For the person that is truly hungry, even the simplest and smallest piece of bread is satisfying. As Christians who live in a context where biblical content is so pervasive and accessible, our nourishment and satisfaction has much more to do with our appetite and much less to do with what's on the menu. When you're truly hungry it's hard to get hung up on what's being served.

            We don't face the challenge of being hungry and not having enough, rather the challenge we face is tied up in our abundance. In seasons and places of prosperity it's all too easy to take what's precious for granted or treat something sacred as if it were common. One of the marks of a deepening Christian maturity is that, while in seasons of blessing, you can maintain your hunger for the things of God and the realization of your own spiritual need. The Bible is replete with examples of how prosperity can potentially be just as damaging to a person's faith as persecution. If we allow the blessings of God to produce feelings of self-righteousness or self-sufficiency in our life, then those blessings have become a curse.

            This is the work of the enemy, to take what God has made good and twist it for evil in order to subvert the work of God. The devil's tactics aren't always so straight-forward. If he can't tempt you to jump into obvious sins, then he tries a more subtle approach. He will attack your schedule and appetite. The enemy is quite glad when people are too busy to give God the time of day or their appetite is so out of sorts that they don't even desire the things of God anymore.

            Maybe now more than ever, we have extra time on our hands. What are we doing with it? Perhaps our next step for spiritual growth is not finding the newest, coolest thing, but rather asking and allowing Jesus to produce a deeper hunger for the things of God in our souls. Instead of being caught up by all the external things, maybe today's the day you pick up your Bible and ask God to start changing you from the inside-out.

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled."
-Matthew 5:6