TODAY’S
WORD FOR THURSDAY OCTOBER 31, 2013.
HUNGER
DEFINITION:
A
strong desire; a craving for food; a compelling need.
SCRIPTURE:
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. Psalm 63:1
Blessed
are those that hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be
satisfied. Matthew 5:6.
KNOWLEDGE
AND EXPERIENCE:
The
Lord has given us physical appetites, which are essential for our physical
survival. And in addition He has created within our hearts a hunger that is
spiritual. David knew both physical and spiritual hunger. During the time King
Saul was seeking to kill David he fled to the desert to hide. The scripture
tells us that he was alone, hungry and thirsty. This is physical hunger.
David
was a man who recognized and felt a yearning for the Lord in his life. There
are many verses in the Psalms, like the one we have written above, where we
find David meditating, offering praise, or crying out to God. We have no doubt,
reading about David, that his greatest joy was to be with his Heavenly Father
in intimate communion. He had many moments in his life where he fell away from
God revealing his human weaknesses. He also knew where to find healing and refuge.
With a repentant and hungry heart he sought the Lord's forgiveness and
fellowship. This satisfied his spiritual hunger for the Lord.
Hungering
for the Lord is a desire to know and draw closer to God. Unfortunately, this
desire is lacking in many believer's lives.
Most believers are sure they are saved but have very little desire for
more of God in their lives.
One
of the major reasons for this is that our society is filled with all sorts of
things that grab and hold our interest and desires in life. These interests
compete with God for our attention and they seem to claim our time and effort
more than our hunger to know more about our Lord.
Our
prayer is that this devotional will awaken you to see the need in your life for
a new hunger for God. But for this to happen it will require changing
priorities and pursuits. Let us assure you that you will always get more out of
a fresh relationship with God then what you put into it. You will find that as
your hunger for Him becomes a priority He will open your heart and mind to
understand and desire more of Him. Jesus said, "They who hunger and thirst
for righteousness shall be satisfied."
LEARNING:
Our
memory verse for this week is found in I John 4:20.
If
someone says, I love God, and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who
does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not
seen.
PRAYER:
Help
me to yearn more for You in my life as David did. Give me a fresh hunger for
Your righteousness that drives me to change my priorities and pursuits. Thank
You for satisfying my family with contentment and a sense of completeness that
You alone can give.
