One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple. Psalm 27:4 (NKJV)
In Psalm 27, David speaks of enemies and adversaries. However, in the midst of this, he remembers God and the desire that he has for Him. He had a longing for the presence of God. His desire was to dwell in the house of the Lord and to inquire within His temple. This was his focus and gaze.
When one is hungry and thirsty for God, they are not satisfied with natural material things. They look for something more. They crave after the presence and the glory of God. We must ask ourselves, “what is the desire of our hearts?” and “what are we craving after?”.
David was not concerned about the beauty of the physical temple or the riches given to a king. He was focussed on the beauty of God. This beauty consumed him and not the things of the world. When we are hungry for God, money, clothes and food will not satisfy.
O God, You are my God; early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water. 2 So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory. 3 Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You. 4 Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name. 5 My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips. 6 When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches. 7 Because You have been my help, therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice. 8 My soul follows close behind You; Your right hand upholds me. Psalm 63:1-8 (NKJV)
Hunger is a blessing. It is a longing to know God and His ways. Jesus is looking for hungry hearts. He is looking for those who would be loyal and faithful to Him. Hunger is a natural expression of the basic human desire. One of the indicators that something is wrong, is the loss of appetite. This also relates to the spiritual. If we have no desire for God, then something is wrong spiritually. If we are not hungry for God, we will be hungry for other things.
In the natural, you get hungry by not eating. However, in the spiritual, you get hungry by eating. When we begin to eat from the Word, the desire within our hearts for God begins to grow and get stronger. Hungry people are filled and still hunger for more. They can only be satisfied by God. If you want to be hungry, read the Word. When the Word gets on the inside of you, hunger begins to ignite within you. When we worship and pray, we hunger for more of God. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.
In order for us to get hungry, we have to forsake our current desires for the world. We have to forsake the broken cisterns and long after the fountain of living water (Jeremiah 2:13). Some of us have become dry and have become too busy with the things of the world. We have become lukewarm. We must take time out to spend with God. We can’t be consumed with television, Whatsapp and Facebook. We must be consumed by God.
Hungry people press in for more. Hungry people do desperate things. Hungry people receive from God. They are persistent and determined to receive. Persistence refers to the firm continuance in a course of action despite difficulty or opposition.
Like Bartimaeus, we must press on even though some may tell us to shut up (Mark 10:46-52). We must be persistent. Obstacles will come but we must press on. The woman with the issue of blood did not let the crowd hinder her. She pressed in and touched the hem of Jesus’ garment (Mark 5:24-34). She was desperate and she received her healing. We must ask ourselves, “what is hindering us?” Are we going to let it stop us from pursuing God?
Jesus responds to hunger. We must become serious about God and pursuing Him. Mary was a worshipper who was hungry for God (Luke 7:36-47, Matthew 26:6-7, John 11:1-2, Luke 10:38-42). It is not about how we serve in ministry but about our hunger for God. Serving is good but our relationship with God is more important.
