Hunger | Moved
Monday— Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Matthew 5:6
-After four days lost in the mountains, Joe was starved. He’d eaten a banquet before he left, but it didn’t help his hunger now.
-Porn had been Ted’s secret pleasure for decades. But now, no matter how twisted it became, it no longer satisfied his hunger.
-She bought fancy things and sacrificed her morals to be popular. But her hunger to be rich and famous only got worse.
Hunger is an ache that drives us until it’s filled. Wouldn’t it be great if we could eat a pile of donuts and never hunger again? Or buy a designer wardrobe and never long for expensive things again? But hunger keeps coming back. But there’s another kind of hunger buried deep in every human heart for something greater, purer, higher than us—even if we can’t define it. We may find temporary relief in charity work or in trying to be a good person, but if we’re honest, the hunger’s still there. Jesus called it a “hunger for righteousness.” That’s what we were made for, but we can’t achieve it on our own. It’s an itch we can’t scratch. When we turn toward God, He begins to fill that hunger with His truth. His word. His presence. His desires. The closer we get, the more we’re filled and we find that His banquets satisfy our souls like nothing we’ve ever tasted.
Challenge: Are you trying to fill up on things that don’t satisfy? When we hunger for righteousness, we can be filled.
Prayer: Father, I’ve chased a lot of hungers and they never satisfied for long. Turn my appetites toward your kingdom, eternity, and righteous living. I want to hunger for the right things. Only you can satisfy my soul. In Jesus’ name, amen.
———————————————————-
Tuesday— The person who is full spurns honey, but to a hungry person even the bitter seems sweet. Proverbs 27:7
“But I’m making your favorite dinner!” exclaimed Mom, holding up a platter. “Steak, mashed potatoes, corn, and rolls.” Roj dropped his gear on the floor and sank into a chair. “Thanks, but I’m stuffed. Coach had us all over for cake and ice cream and I had three bowls! Then Stu brought his cotton candy machine. Maybe later.” Roj wasn’t interested in good food because he’d already stuffed himself with junk. And when we don’t hunger after God, it’s usually because we’re already filled with junk.
The 21st century offers us more menu options than at any other time in human history. We’re busy-busy-busy keeping up with our jobs, our health, and our families. When we have a few down moments, we grab our phones or the TV remote and surf brainlessly, trying to relax. We never allow our souls to be still. To feel hungry. Before we can appreciate being filled, we have to feel hungry. Remember how you felt the last time you hadn’t eaten for hours? You couldn’t wait for your favorite meal. It tasted even better because it satisfied a need. God wants us to feel that same hunger for Him. But what if we don’t? If we lack hunger, we can create it by cutting out the junk food. Try fasting for a few days from TV, phone, social media, and video games. With your Bible on your lap, ask God to show you where He is…where you are…where you need to be and how to get there. Start reading in Psalms, asking God to speak to you until hunger starts to gnaw at your soul. Then ask Him to satisfy it.
Challenge: If you don’t hunger for God, consider what junk food you are filling yourself with. Turn it off for a while.
Prayer: Lord, it’s embarrassing to admit, but I don’t really hunger for you. Maybe I’m so used to filling myself with junk that I don’t know how. But I want to. Show me what’s taking your place. I want to be hungry for you. In Jesus’ name, amen.
———————————————————-
Wednesday— My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? Psalm 42:2
Do you skim over verses like that because they feel foreign? Does this level of spiritual passion make you uncomfortable? Many Christians feel that way. They believe in the Jesus of the scriptures. They’ve repented of sin, trusted in Jesus’ death and resurrection as the only way to salvation. They’re faithful in church, in serving, giving, Bible reading, and prayer. But it’s mechanical. They do it because they’re supposed to do it, but it never touches their emotions. If they had to be honest, they’d reluctantly admit they don’t really love God. They appreciate Him, fear Him, and honor Him. But their relationship is more of a business deal: God did His part, I do mine, so we’re good. Then they read verses like this and feel guilty. If that’s you, read on.
The rest of Psalm 42 describes what we call “the dark night of the soul.” Passion like this chapter describes is only felt by those who’ve endured some very dark seasons. They were stripped of cool, impersonal religion and thrust on the altar naked before a holy God. They realized all they’d held back when they pretended to surrender and came to see it as worthless trinkets. They abandoned themselves to whatever God wants with them, and in the giving up found they were lifted up. “Come up here with me,” came the whisper and they eagerly obeyed. They may be battered and broken, wounded from the fight, but their souls are at peace. They read verses like this one and smile. They get it now. Worldly delicacies don’t tempt them; they’re already full.
Challenge: Dark nights are meant to free us from our “business deal” with God so we can become passionate worshipers.
Prayer: Father, when I read verses like this one, I feel a hunger for what it’s talking about. I’m tired of thinking of you as a business partner. I want to be a worshiper. I give up. I abandon myself to whatever you want for me. In Jesus’ name, amen.
———————————————————-
Thursday— Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night. Psalm 1:1-2
“What do you think TikTok? Oprah…social media…Hulu…YouTube?” Seeking the counsel and company of the wicked, sinners, and scoffers kills our hunger for God. Their views will clash with God’s and since theirs are louder, we usually go with theirs. Culture praises us for walking in the counsel of the wicked. Friends encourage us to stand in the path of sinners and it feels smart and powerful when we sit in the seat of scoffers. But what are they scoffing at? Biblical values. Wisdom. Letting God tell us what to do. So the ungodly repackage and relabel their scoffing as love, tolerance, and affirmation. A higher path.
To hunger for God is to offend the world—even the church world. Jesus said He’d one day separate the sheep from the goats (Matt. 25:31-46). The sheep are His; the goats are not. But what we call church today is often a gathering of sick sheep and goats who think they’re sheep. So when the God-hungry don’t watch certain TV shows, uphold God’s word, and refuse to take part in mob think or the latest social cause, they’re labeled as “phobic,” intolerant, or non-affirming. Hungerers don’t care. They’ve learned to delight in the law of the Lord. It fills them, sustains them, and supplies truth when deception is the law of the land. Psalm 1 says we’re blessed when we satisfy our hunger with godliness and reject the agenda of an ungodly world.
Challenge: In what ways might you be walking in the counsel of the wicked, sinners, or scoffers?
Prayer: Father, show me where I’m satisfying my hunger in wrong ways. Help me delight in your law. In Jesus’ name, amen.
———————————————————-
Friday— …watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. Romans 16:17-18
The “Jesus” of today is big business! Self-proclaimed “preachers of the gospel” clog the airways and the internet, proudly proclaiming their “newest revelations” that contradict your outdated Bible. They repackage Jesus like this: He was a social reformer who accepted everyone and urged us all to live our best lives now. He died so you would believe in yourself. Sin is when you forget how great you are, and if you buy this book for $29.99, you can learn to love your awesome self like God does. Prosperity! Success! Self-love! It’s all yours if you help Reverend BigHair buy another jet. These teachers stir up hunger for the very things Jesus told us to let go of. This is a different gospel (Galatians 1:8). They exploit your appetites to feed theirs.
The “prosperity gospel” promises your heart’s desires if you just have enough faith. And “faith” is defined as chanting aloud what you want and demanding that God produce it. It redirects our soul hunger away from God and toward SELF. God is no longer the focus of the Bible, of worship music, or of our lives. It’s US! Wonderful, beautiful US and how great we must be since God loves us. This false gospel is quickly overtaking biblical Christianity because it appeals to our lower nature. It whets our fleshly appetites by convincing us God wants what we want. It satisfies like cotton candy, but leaves us just as empty.
Challenge: Don’t allow the lesser hungers for material things overtake your hunger for God.
Prayer: Lord, am I doing that? Am I allowing myself to be seduced by a false gospel because it sounds so good? I want to see you as the awesome God you are, not as a ticket to worldly pleasure. Your presence is enough for me. In Jesus’ name, amen.