Are You Hungry?

Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. That's a promise from God word. (James 4:8) What an amazing promise. But take note that we make the first move. He is a gentleman. He will not push His way in where we do not want Him. What is involved in drawing near? Well this has been my experience. If I fill my life with 'good' books, 'good' videos, 'good' computer games, and the list goes on and on, I will want more of those good things. My appetite for God will not be strong. But if I feed on God's Word and spend time with Him in prayer, then I will hunger for more of Him. For those of you who are married, or engaged, do you remember the days when you had to be apart and you yearned to talk to or see your mate? Or when your spouse is gone for an extended period of time and you long to hear their voice? I remember this summer when we were helping out at CEFC, Mark and I saw each other on a come and go kind of basis. He was trying to farm and then usually came back to camp for the night. Well one night because it was getting late, I had come to the conclusion that I would not see him until the next day. So I went on with my night, and then I heard it. I heard 'his laugh'. Now I have come to love his laugh, it is such a special and important part of him. My heart literally leaped! Even though I knew it was only one night, and I knew I would have survived! I was still so happy to see him because I had so much to share with him and I love to be around him. And that's the way it should be with our relationship with God. We should always be longing for our God. Our thoughts should be centered around Him. Our hearts should leap for joy when we think of spending time with Him and actually do! So for me the struggle has always been, "How can I do that as a busy housewife and mom when there are endless things to do and you are sometimes, rephrase that, most of the time very tired." Well I have come to the realization that God just wants me to acknowledge Him all throughout the day. I can converse with Him in the middle of it all. I can memorize scripture in the middle of it all, I can be listening to His voice in the middle of it all! There is never an excuse, as much as I would often like to make one! But one thing that I do know and have experienced, if I fill my life with 'entertainment' I will not have a passionate hunger for God. My hunger will be for those things that I fill my life with.

What are you hungry for today?

For more on this topic a great resource is John Bevere's "Drawing Near to God" series.