True Hunger and Thirst

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied." Matt.5:6


I had bible study at my house last night and it was a very convicting topic for me. The title of the chapter is "Hungering and Thirsting for Righteousness." It talked about having an intense hunger and thirst for God. Having hunger or thirst that has to be fulfilled or you die. Because we live in America, we don't often experience hunger or thirst like that. We think we feel hungry, but we don't really know what that means. Even though Dan and I live on a strict budget, we always have a little wiggle room if we need some extra groceries here or there. We don't know what it is like to be truly hungry. But I want to know what this is like in a spiritual sense. I get a taste of it when I have my quiet times and my heart is focused on communicating with God and on gaining knowledge of the scriptures. I know what it feels like to want more. I don't like when I have to stop having my quiet time because I am out of time. I know what it feels like to crave that time with the Lord. But, in my busy world, do I feel that all the time.......no. Do I take the time to get into the word so I can feel that craving.....not always. I need the word of the living God and a relationship with God to live. This needs to be a habit throughout my life.

Gary Thomas wrote, "Christian health is not defined by how happy we are, how prosperous or healthy we are, or even by how many people we have led to the Lord in the past year. Christian health is ultimately defined by how sincerely we wave our flag of surrender." The chapter that we studied also talked about ways to make sure that we increase our hunger and thirst for righteousness. One idea that really sparked an interest for me is watching out for idols. If I have idols in my life then I am not pursuing Christ. I can relate to this because of a few things that I like A LOT. I have a few T.V. shows that I follow (well......maybe more than a few). I really really like my reality T.V. During the day I watch television when the kids are napping and when they go to sleep at night I like to relax in front of the T.V. This is not a good thing because it is quite the time robber. My other idol would be clothes. Although since we have had children and have gone on a budget, I don't get to pursue this idol much. I can clearly see how having idols can rob us of our life with Christ. Removing idols would allow me to focus solely on God.

How often do we hunger for more and not feel satisfied in this world? As a testimony to what the Lord can do in our lives, let me share how he taught me how to replace jealousy with hungering and thirsting for Him. I used to feel jealous of other's lives. A LOT! I used to feel like we could always do more or have more. I wanted a bigger house or a better car. But God took those icky feelings, forgave me for having them, healed me of them, and gave me a peace that only comes from Him. I learned to fall in love with the things that I do have. I love my house more then ever before. I don't just love my house, I love every room in my house. I love that I have a roof over my head and a heater that keeps my children warm at night. Let me tell you....this is the kind of peace and healing that only comes from hungering and thirsting for God.

I want to continue to grow towards Him in a way that allows my life to be transparent to all around me. I want people to see my heart first and know that only God has been the one to transform me. This topic makes me question how much I do because of what it looks like to others versus how much I just do for the Lord. I am guilty of putting on a good show for others rather than letting the Lord's light shine and showing my good and ugly side. But the more the I pursue Christ, the more transparent I will become.