Hungry For God

HUNGRY FOR GOD

By Rodney W Francis

“Blessed are those who hunger (“to be hungry, suffer hunger; to hunger after, long for”) and thirst (“to thirst after, long for”) for righteousness (“the doing or being what is just and right”), for they shall be filled (“to feed, fill with food”)” (Matthew 5:6). These are the words of Jesus Christ and we need to consider what He is saying here. If we want to be filled with more of God, then we have to demonstrate to Him our hunger and thirsting to Him. It does not automatically happen. In the natural, when we are hungry and thirsty, we pursue the desire to satisfy that hunger and thirst until we are filled. The more hungry and thirsty we are, the more we seek to satisfy that hunger and thirsting. It is good for us to be more hungry and thirsty for the things of God. “He (God) has filled the hungry with good things” (Luke 1:53). There are rewards in God for those who will press into God and demonstrate to Him that we are more hungry for Him and His will to be done in our lives than anything else. When we draw near to God He draws near to us (James 4:8). Hunger and thirsting has to do with desire. The more hungry and thirsty we are the more we desire to satisfy that hunger and thirsting. “Delight (“to be delicate, take pleasure in”) yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires (“petitions”) of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass. He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday” (Psalm 37:4-6).

WE HAVE TO MAKE THE FIRST MOVE

Notice in these Scriptures we have to make the first move. Here is another one: “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8). We have to show God that we do desire more of Him in our life. We make the decision to draw nearer to Him, and when we do, He responds in a positive way to give us the benefits of a closer walk with Himself.

The question is:

How hungry and thirsty are we for more of God?
Is that desire strong enough to cause us to do something about satisfying that hunger and thirsting?

“Ho! Everyone who thirsts, Come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in abundance. Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear (“to hear, to listen, to give heed, obey”), and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you ~ the sure mercies of David . . . Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon” (see Isaiah Chapter 55).

Here is a clear invitation from the Lord for us to satisfy that thirst which is in within us. He has all the answers to whatever we need, and we need to be close enough to Him to have the benefits of all He has to give us.

May our hungering and thirsting after God be strong enough to motivate us into action, so that we will press in closer to Jesus and get to know Him more and more personally. We need to have those ears that “hear what the Holy Spirit is saying to us today” (repeated 16 times in the New Testament).

New Covenant Christianity is summed up in this verse: “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God” (Romans 8:14). When we are being led by the Holy Spirit, then we are right in the centre of God’s will for our life, and that is when we are totally fulfilled and understanding what Jesus Christ has saved us for and to do. Hallelujah!

How strong is our desire to be led by the Holy Spirit daily?
How well do we know God’s will for our life personally?

These are important questions for us to answer. Life is too short for us to be wasting it on things other than God’s will being done in our life.

HE SATISFIES THE LONGING SOUL

Consider this verse: “For He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness” (Psalm 107:9). Again we have to do the longing after and showing true hunger for the things of God. May our love for Jesus Christ and His will and purposes be strong enough to keep us pressing in closer to Him, so we will get all the benefits of what it means to be a true believer and disciple of Jesus Christ.

It is important that we are mixing and fellowshipping with other Christians who are encouraging us to be our best for Jesus, as there are so many distractions in the world today. The enemy would try and make us doubt what is being written here, but we need to know he is a liar and a loser.

IT IS BETWEEN YOU AND GOD

Know also that demonstrating our hungering and thirsting after God is between us and God alone. No one else can do this for you or me. God knows us through and through and is waiting for us to demonstrate to Him a genuine desire for more of Him.

“Blessed are the undefiled (“blameless”) in the way, who walk in the law (“direction, teaching”) of the Lord! Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with the whole heart! They also do no iniquity; they walk in His ways. You have commanded us to keep Your precepts (“what are committed to one to be observed; statutes; commandments”) diligently (“mightily”). Oh, that my ways were directed to keep Your statutes! Then I would not be ashamed, when I look into all Your commandments. I will praise You with uprightness of heart, when I learn Your righteous judgments. I will keep Your statutes (“something decreed; prescribed”); Oh, do not forsake me utterly!” (Psalm 119:1-8).

Here again we see that it is a total commitment to God that is required of us ~ a hungering and thirsting after righteousness. Otherwise the natural part of us reduces us to mere forms, traditions, religiosity, etc., which do not give us a truly meaningful life. We have to be convinced that God’s way is the right way for us. Be encouraged to keep pressing in closer to Him and His way so we get all the benefits that He has for us. And His benefits to us are wonderful! Hallelujah!

You might ask, “How do I demonstrate my hungering and thirsting after righteousness?” The answer is by yielding to Him in prayer, listening to His voice with a commitment to be obedient to what He says to us, speaking in tongues (the Holy Spirit language that enables us to build ourselves up more in God – 1 Corinthians 14:4; Jude 20-25), spending time in His Word so we believe what He says about us more than what our natural mind tells us about us. All these things help us to press in closer to Jesus. It is giving Him time to do His work in us, so we will be changed to receive all the benefits He has for us when we are filled with His righteousness. The more we press in to Him the more He will draw nearer to us. He loves us with an everlasting love and desires that we receive all the benefits that He has purchased for us through His finished work at Calvary.

Be encouraged to follow the teachings of the Bible in a practical way. That way we receive the benefits that God desires us to have so we can live a life that is glorifying to Him. Put the past behind you and walk into a whole new day with Him through your hungering and thirsting after righteousness. You will be amazed at what God can do in and through you when you are totally yielded to His will through a strong desire to please Him. He is waiting for you and me to demonstrate that hunger and thirsting for more of Him. Hallelujah! Love in Jesus ~ Rodney W. Francis.

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