Hungry?

Listening to the young missionary share her brokenness, her joy, and her deep hunger was exactly what I needed. She has healed through God’s power, seen the unseen, walked with death, and loved deeply – and she is hungry for more. She isn’t sitting back saying, wow, that was great…she is looking forward to see what God will do next. She has tasted his goodness and desires more…more of Him, more of his love, more of his power, more of his grace. She is hungry.

Are we? Or…have we become satisfied?

Every year we do the 30 hour famine to raise awareness and money for World Vision. By fasting for 30 hours, we are able to identify – in a small way – with those that go hungry every day. It is one of the few times that I feel truly, deeply hungry. There is an emptiness that grows with the hours and at times consumes your mind. I get tired of the liquid diet after just a few hours and just can’t wait to sink my teeth into something solid.

Around hour 27, it begins. The smell of food starts to fill the air around the kitchen as servant-hearted people begin to make our break-the-fast meal. There is nothing like the aroma of sausages and pancakes after 30 hours of fasting. Just the thought of food makes your mouth drool and your stomach roll. It becomes all Ican think about as I wait for the meal that I know is coming. I can almost taste the crispy bacon because my hunger is so strong. In fact, the smell seems to bring on the realization of just how hungry I really am and how badly I want to eat.

At hour 29 ½ we come together for worship and communion so that at hour 30 the first thing we taste is the bread and the cup. The taste of the bread is like nothing you can describe. It is filling, in and of itself. There is a satisfaction way deep down as the food becomes a part of you. It makes you feel whole and complete in a way I can’t explain.

BUT, that is not the end. There is so much more. It does not end with communion. I walk through the door and there is a whole table filled with hot, mouth-watering food…even though communion felt like enough, the promise of more is exciting. I begin to get impatient; worry if there will be enough food for all of us because the big teenage boys in the front have their plates so full. After our big break-fast meal, we all go home fully satisfied…until our next meal.

What if we lived with a hunger for God like that? What if we weren’t satisfied with just salvation, but we walked with the expectation that there is so much more waiting behind the next door? What if a liquid diet frustrated us and we pushed for the solid food God has for us? What if just the thought of him made us react physically and emotionally with an expectation and impatience of what is to come?

I want to be hungry like that for Him. I don’t want to life a satisfied life that is content with occasional amazing meals; I want to live in full hunger and expectation for what he has in store where just the aroma of Him fills me with excitement.

What about you? Are you hungry?