That Hunger Deep Within

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been cutting my weight. During my last annual physical exam, the doctor informed me that I have let myself go and put on several additional pounds that is starting to affect my blood pressure, cholesterol, etc. I'm no 21 any more... although I feel like I am inside. I tried to tell him that my problem wasn’t that I am overweight, I’m just under tall. If I had a few more inches of height, I could afford to carry around the extra pounds. He wouldn’t go for that... So I’m now on what I call "the starvation diet". Not really, but it seems like that. I’ve cut back on all the stuff that tastes really good, things like – ice cream, double cheeseburgers, fries, chili hot dogs and Oreo cookies with milk. And in place of all the good stuff, I'm eating deliciously tasting rice cakes, no fat pretzels, no fat thin sliced turkey, turkey burgers, lots of “rabbit food” and drinking gallons of water. One thing I’ve noticed about that kind of food: no matter how much I eat, I'm still hungry. My stomach is still empty. It's a little easier now than it was when I first started, but sometimes I would kill for a huge triple burger dripping with greasy cheese, extra mayo, and all the ‘fixings’… Thus far, I haven't given in to that urge. But it's not because I haven't wanted to... In fact, I'm writing this blog as a sort of therapy to keep from heading to Burger King! :)
As a pastor, I'm always looking for lessons from life. As such, I’ve discovered a very clear parallel between my insatiable hunger for food and my walk with the Lord. When we're born into this world, we have a natural void... an emptiness inside our soul. As we grow older, we become more acutely aware of that emptiness. It's a hunger deep within that longs to be filled with something - we're just not sure what. Naturally, most of us start looking for things of the world to fill that void. We try to satisfy the hunger thru relationships, sports, hobbies, money, partying, etc. But sooner or later we discover all that stuff leaves us empty. It's like eating unflavored rice cakes. The truth is, only Christ can satisfy the emptiness we have in our lives. Only He can sustain us spiritually... Only thru a relationship with Him do we begin to discover the reason for which we were created and find the nourishment our souls long for.
When I came to realize that, I tried to do things for God in order to earn my seat at His table. I was raised with a good work ethic - "Nothing in life is free." "Make something out of yourself." "Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps." So naturally I thought that would work with the Lord. And if I showed Him how dedicated I am compared to everyone else, He might give me more! But none of that philosophy works with Him... As a matter of fact, it gets in the way. And I found myself continually hungry for more…
A lot of us associate righteousness with working harder… doing more for Jesus… never missing a Sunday at church… giving… you know, all the righteous stuff we force ourselves to do. But the righteousness that Jesus offers to us is a gift – we can’t work for it – it’s free. All you need is a hunger for more of it. He promises righteousness to those who are empty. He gives it to those who are aware that there is something missing in life that nothing else can satisfy. And the amazing thing is that you can only be satisfied when you simply receive it – like a baby being fed by a mother – “Open wide!” Even if we tried to earn Christ’s righteousness, we don’t have enough years nor enough energy to do enough to merit receiving it. We sometimes think, “If I go to the right church, perform the right rituals, wear the right clothes, hang out with the right people, then I’ll be righteous.” But it doesn’t work that way… You can ready your Bible 23 times a day, give 50% of your paycheck on Sunday, keep your temper under control and lock yourself in a closet every Friday and Saturday night to keep your behavior under control and you still not be righteous. You can’t create it; you can’t earn it; you can’t get it by osmosis; neither can you borrow it like a loan from the bank. The terms would be too great. You could never pay it back. So what can we do? Do we adopt as our mantra for life the song that Mick Jagger sang, “I can’t get no satisfaction”? How do we experience the sustenance that will satisfy the spiritual hunger we long for? I'm not trying to oversimplify this but all you can do is receive it in humility. Come to Jesus. Express to Him that nothing else in life will satisfy. Tell Him that you’re tired of trying to earn His approval or anyone else’s. You’re hungry and you’re not sure what you’re hungry for… But you know it has something to do with knowing Him on a deeper level. Ask the Holy Spirit to fill your stomach, your life, your whole being with His presence, His power and His provision. And make that prayer your daily request… “More of You… More of You… More of You Jesus… All I ask is more of You.” You will not find satisfaction that will take away the hunger in your soul in any other place. But that’s okay… Jesus said that all you need is a hunger for righteousness. When you discover what you’re hungry for, He will fill you. And He doesn’t limit what you can enjoy… It’s like an “all you can eat” buffet, filled with the most delicious and satisfying things you can imagine! Christ has an indefinite supply of righteousness and He offers it to all of us who hunger for it.
In my attempts to lose weight, I’m hungry because my stomach is empty most of the time. That’s a different kind of hunger than I have for Jesus and His righteousness. The hunger I have for Jesus is about never being filled… I can’t take in too much… I’ll never be full… The more I experience, the more I’m hungry for more. What about you? Are you hungry for more of Him? Is something missing in your relationship with God and you’re not sure what it is? Maybe the longing you have in your heart is for more of Jesus… Is your heart crying out for His righteousness and your flesh is trying to convince you that you need to fill that emptiness in your life with all kinds of other junk? Turn to Jesus my friend. Only He can satisfy that hunger deep within you.

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