When I was pregnant with my last boy I CRAVED Big Macs! Every few days I was driving through the drive through, determined that it would be my last one…but I couldn’t help it. I saw those Golden Arches and the steering wheel turned on its own. I HAD TO have one…or I would DIE!!!
The hunger was visceral.
It doesn’t take much looking around to see the deep hunger surging in our society. They crave love and acceptance, and I totally understand…I crave it too. Many of us crave it to the point where we even do things that we have doubts about, that hunger has to be filled. Many addictions and choices come from this deep hunger. It’s innate in each of us to be part of something bigger. Something that really matters.
We need to belong…
We cry out for love…
For some of us that craving for love turns into obsession. We cling to a person or an ideal that we fight for, sometimes even at the cost of all we hold dear…just to make a point, or just to win. We will compromise our morals and self-esteem to get something. Or someone. Sometimes it’s just so we can belong to something that everyone else seems to belong to.
No one really likes to stand out on their own.
It gets lonely.
What are we really hungry for? I knew that I was, and am, starving for something deeper.
For years the “God Chaser” books sat on my bookshelf. I looked at them once in awhile, even skimming the content…but it never gripped my heart. I didn’t get it. I didn’t get that the deep hunger inside of me was a hunger for the love of Jesus. I thought that hunger was for my earthly relationships, acceptance, possessions, and the occasional moment of worship.
I started reading them a week ago, and now I get it!
“We tend to satisfy our hunger pains through the performance of minor religious duties such a once-a-week church attendance or an occasional prayer on the run. Hunger has ceased to be part of our religious vocabulary because it is considered “undignified” by today’s spiritual elite. They don’t realize that hunger is among the most attractive things they have to offer to their creator.” (pg. 33, The God Catchers)
Nothing else but the relentless pursuit of Jesus will satisfy my hunger. He is the only ONE whom I can receive that unconditional love from. Those arms that never push away, no judgement, just peace.
HE is our rock.
HE is our anchor. My wind and waves…
My steadfast, I will not be afraid!
HE IS LOVE!
Nothing or no one else can do it for us. That hunger will remain. That deep hole will not get filled. No matter what we feel we have accomplished. Or what group we belong to.
PRAYER: “My symptoms are showing, Lord. You are beginning to dominate my thoughts, and my hunger for Your presence is getting completely out of hand. I can’t help myself. All I want is You, Lord. I will pursue You all the days of my life because my passion leaves me no choice. I’m part of the restless remnant, a chronic God Chaser with an unending appetite for Your presence.” (pg. 23, Experiencing His Presence, devotions for God Catchers)