Monday, February 8, 2016

I’m famished!

Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress, I will not be shaken.

Hungering and thirsting for Christ.  What does that mean?  It means that more than anything else in this world you truly want Jesus Christ to be Lord of your life.  You truly want everything out of your life that is not in accordance with His word, His plan for your life.  The things you allow that are not right or in alignment with His Word will turn you into something you do not want to be if you allow them to influence you. 
The Bible says to guard your heart and we don’t take that seriously enough.  If we don’t guard our heart, the great deceiver will be glad to take it off our hands.  He is waiting and lurking, watching for a weak moment.  He will gladly give us everything we think we need. See, we realize there is a lack.  We feel the hunger and thirst and so often do not seek Christ to satisfy the cravings.  We go elsewhere; we turn to the wrong people, drugs, alcohol, food, etc.  We look everywhere but in the right place and that only leads to more feelings of emptiness.  Until we go to Christ to satisfy the hunger and thirst we have, we will never be satisfied.  We may feel good for a moment but then we may feel worse than we did to begin with.  We have not filled the vacancy plus now we have sin and consequences to deal with as well.  Don’t compound the problem.  Turn to the only one who gives living bread and living water.  Only He can feed our hungry hearts and quench our aching thirst. 
How can we cultivate more of a hunger for God? 
  • Decide to put forth the effort – It takes discipline and effort to seek fulfillment from God.  We sit in church and listen to short sermons and think we should be ready to go for the week.  But we don’t spend time daily reading the Bible and praying because we want to do other things more.  Then we become dissatisfied and wonder why.  It takes a decision and commitment to have a relationship with Christ. 
  • Actively seek His fulfillment – Set aside the earthly cravings you have to find that fulfillment in Christ.  Nothing is more satisfying than knowing you have done the right thing – the thing the Lord wanted you to do.  Attempting to satisfy ourselves in any way that is not in obedience to His will can only result in frustration, guilt, shame, emptiness and discouragement.  Spiritual nourishment will come from living in obedience and within the boundaries of God’s will.
I believe you don’t truly hunger and thirst for God until you have been broken; until you have hit rock bottom and you know that there is nothing else that is going to work but Him.  Then you are ready and willing and teachable.  You crave His goodness and long for His power in your life.  He is the desperate air you breathe in; the only thing that is sustaining you.  Everything else that you have been substituting becomes distasteful and His nourishing love is a balm on your raw and bleeding heart.  Now you are ready.  Now He can help you.  Now you can be nourished.      

Scripture to Claim:

My salvation and my honor depend on God; He is my mighty rock, my refuge. Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to Him, for God is our refuge

by Lara Cook

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