Hungering for God

In Psalm 42:1-2 King David cried out, "As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?"

I don't know about you, but I'm afraid the feelings that David expressed here are rarely a reality for me. A hunger for God; an overwhelming desire to please Him; an anticipation to meet with Him; a thirst to drink from His Word -- are these things that occupy our minds? Or do they get squeezed out by the busyness of life?

Is hungering for God important? Well, if He is our very life, and apart from Him we can do nothing, and without Him we will not see success, and in Him alone we find joy, hope, love, peace and purpose, then we might want to make cultivating our appetite for God a top priority.

Why is it so difficult to maintain such a hunger for God? John Piper observes with great insight that,

"The greatest adversary of love to God is not His enemies but His gifts. And the most deadly appetites are not for the poison of evil, but for the simple pleasures of earth. For when these replace an appetite for God Himself, the idolatry is scarcely recognizable, and almost incurable... These are not vices. These are gifts from God. They are your basic meat and potatoes and coffee and gardening and reading and decorating and traveling and investing and TV-watching and Internet-surfing and shopping and exercising and collecting and talking. And all of them can become deadly substitutes for God."

God's desire is that we enjoy Him so that our needs will be met. He loves to reward us as we find our joy in Him. Is something or someone else replacing God's premier place in your affections? Does something else occupy your mind and energy day by day? Even the best of things in life can give you and me a false sense of fulfillment. Ultimately only God can satisfy. We were created by Him -- to honor Him, to serve Him, and to find our life in Him alone.

Scripture: Luke 8:14 - "And the seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity."

Action Point: Do you need to offer something to God as a sacrifice or fast in order to reorder your priorities with Him? He longs to fellowship with you.

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