“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for God’s approval. They will be satisfied”. Matthew 5:6 (God’s Word Translation) Those of us who attend church regularly, who engage in routine Bible reading and study, who sing praises to the Lord and try to put Him first in our lives every day, we think that we hunger and thirst for God’s approval so much that we put aside these relatively few moments in our lives to honor Him, as we think He would approve. Are you one of these people? I must confess I tend to be this person, with a brain that runs in circles like a toy train and leaks like a sieve at times, I seem to turn to Him more as a habit derived from attending church my entire life and learning that “this is the right thing to do”. The question I must ask myself then is “when am I satiated, when am I satisfied?” Is it a feeling at the end of the day? Is it knowing that I have studied enough, or prayed enough, or worshipped enough? What does it feel like? Is it like the quelling of hunger pains after eating, or a dry mouth after drinking? Does it come back in a minute, an hour, a day and how do I know it has come back? There have been defining times in my life when I felt that the emptiness would never be filled. Two of those times were in the illnesses and subsequent departure of two of the loves of my life to heaven. The loss of my earthly father and my soul-mate husband continue to cause a feeling of hunger to know why I was left, sometimes feeling so alone it is painful and I thirst to drink of the living water to the point where I don’t feel like someone dried up and useless. I believe this is the difficulty of Jesus-followers who always have the written Word available, can pick up a Bible, turn the television or radio on to Christian broadcasts or music and attend church without recrimination. Can we even wrap our minds around those of our brothers and sisters who are engulfed in a spiritual battle with governments, families and acquaintances who stand against a sovereign God, as we know Him? How about those who were raised in a culture that sees a supreme being in a totally different venue? What about those who find themselves shunned from their family, locked in a prison, deprived of all things spiritual except what they hold in their hearts, in their souls, in their minds? It is so beyond our understanding to realize that some have to share one Bible, memorizing scripture in desperation to keep God’s Word close. Do we really hunger and thirst for God’s approval, or do we set our own ship sailing and ask His blessings when the storms come? Do we even know what it feels like to desire His approval more than food, more than drink, more than breathe or life itself? Take an honest look at your life today. Pray that God allows you to, at least get a glimpse of what He has to offer you toward satisfaction. Pray that you see through His eyes, feel with His heart, and really hunger and thirst for Him. Only then will you know what it is like to be God satisfied.
Posted on: Tue, 12 Nov 2013 18:31:53 +0000
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