Hungry
Week Two
January 5, 2025
O God, you are my God. I long for you.
My soul thirsts for you,
my flesh yearns for you,
in a dry and parched land where there is no water.
– Psalm 63:1 (NET)
Addicts hunger for their addiction, the lonely thirst for love, and the empty draw in all manner of indulgences from their surroundings. The heart is a sea never satisfied and desire is a hunger rarely satiated. The fact of the matter is that our whole being craves for God; he is the one we truly long for. Our heart and our flesh cry out for him, for we were created to worship God, not only with our spirits, but also with our souls and bodies — with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength.
Nothing and no one besides God can quench our deepest thirst. As humans, we search for many varied remedies to soothe the aching of an empty soul. Is this surprising given that deep within each one of us is a God-implanted inkling of more, an eternal chasm longing to be filled? Don’t we all seek meaning and desire purpose? Yet only the great Author can complete that which he has designed us for; only he can finish the story of our life and fill its empty pages with the glorious narrative written in the ink of his grace.
In our day and time, we find many who live as if in a dry and weary land, wandering and seeking rest in the temporal. Some try to satisfy their minds, gathering all fashion of knowledge, understanding, and fascinating facts. Some souls seek to fill their thirst for true refreshment through powerfully moving emotions and waves of satisfying feelings. And some have sunk deep into endless dark pit of hopelessness and dissatisfaction by trying to quiet the hungry beast of human nature with sensual delicacies, indulging in both socially acceptable and forbidden pleasures.
The human heart perpetually pines for sustenance and strength. But only God can satisfy it.
He has designed us that our whole being would cry out with thirst and longing for him — the only one our heart truly desires —even if that thirst and longing manifest themselves in a way that looks nothing like a man seeking his God. We often find ourselves looking for love in all the wrong places.
But the Lord himself holds out a prescription for our ailment: seek him first. In your thirst, in your desire, in your hunger, come to the One who speaks words of life. Like Mary at Jesus’ feet, find the good part — the only part that will truly fill the cavernous void of your deepest yearning and not be removed or depleted. Cars lose their new-car smell; relationships take work as they grow; friendships morph and change; but God never changes and never fails.
He has promised to supply our deepest needs from the storehouse of godly contentment. Our desires go wild on us at times; we want the entire orchard when what we really need in the moment is just the apple. But we can learn contentment as Paul the apostle did, knowing that we can do all things through Christ who gives us strength. All we really need is all he has given and all he has given is more than enough to satisfy our deepest needs.
Monday
January 6, 2025
When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death!
— Luke 15:17 (NIV)
Good sense leads us to that which truly fills us. Good sense leads us to a good God who created us and knows what is best for us. “For our good and his glory,” it has been said. Or as Augustine wrote so insightfully, “for you have made us for yourself, and restless is our heart until it comes to rest in you.”¹ Rest stops are put on highways for good reason: people grow weary on the journey. Times of nearness to God are rest stops on life’s journey. The much-needed times of refreshing are found in the sensibility of our returning to him. There is no safer place to find your rest.
What are some of the things people seek rest in? Where have you sought rest and satisfaction outside of the Lord’s provision?
How does God wake us up to what we really need and to what is truly important? In other words, what are some ways he brings us to our senses?
Tuesday
January 7, 2025
As a deer pants for flowing streams,
so pants my soul for you, O God.
— Psalm 42:1 (ESV)
Thirst is one of the strongest human desires. We can live only a matter of days without water. Our spirits are the same. Once we’ve been born again, we long for living water; we need the nourishment that only Jesus can provide. We truly do pant for him; he truly is the one our hearts love. Understanding that and humbly admitting our need for him readies us to receive the quenching only his Spirit can provide. As a child of God, there is only one fountain that will truly satisfy your thirst. Drink deep, my friend; drink deep from the well of God.
Have you ever gone a long time without food and then eaten something and realized just how hungry you were? Have you ever experienced hunger in the spiritual sense? What might this be indicative of?
What are some ways that our hunger for God manifests itself? Is it possible that our desire for God can lay dormant and that we can quiet its rumbling?
Wednesday
January 8, 2025
He restores my soul.
— Psalm 23:3
God is always leading, always drawing us. And one of the places he leads us into is prayer. Prayer provides the opportunity for our souls to be refreshed. It’s just how the Lord works. We spend time with him in honest conversation, in our brokenness, through our tears, with praise and thanksgiving, listening to his Spirit and his Word, and over time, we will find our souls restored and refreshed. His quiet invitation to come goes out amidst the turmoil and loud distractions of life. He is waiting, won’t you come?
What is the biggest obstacle to quality time with God in prayer for you? Knowing that prayer is essential and beneficial, what is one way you could make the time for it?
Sin wearies our souls. How does time with the Lord reverse that effect? Do you ever feel that you can’t freely approach God because of your sin?
Thursday
January 9, 2025
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.
— Psalm 73:26 (NIV)
Life doles out difficulty. Justice can seem elusive at times. But where does our hope ultimately rest? Who is truly our portion? In today’s scripture, the psalmist (Asaph) realized that he had lost his way by elevating circumstance and situation in his heart. But then his eyes were opened when he came into God’s presence. Ours are as well. As we cast our gaze on him, we see that there is nothing more desirous than Jesus in this life; he is the answer to life’s hardest questions.
How has God provided strength to you in your times of weakness? Has he used people? His Word? Has he comforted you himself?
Speak today’s scripture out loud. Is there a benefit to our ears hearing what our hearts may doubt? Is there power in the spoken word of God? Elaborate your thoughts on this.
Friday
January 10, 2025
Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.
— Isaiah 55:1 (NIV)
Jesus’ invitation is simple. You are thirsty, he has water — living water. And the quenching effect of this water is not like the dead-end paltry offerings of this world. No, this water springs up to eternal life; it is an everlasting satisfying flow. His offer is free, without any upfront costs and without any surprise debt or ill-effect in the end. There is no “fine print” on the gracious offer of our Lord Jesus — the offer of himself to us.
What is your first reaction when you see an advertisement for something free? Has your natural response to free offers spilled over to your view of what God offers?
According to Hebrews 11:6, how do we receive what God freely offers? How does the Lord help us here?