Have you ever been hungry or
thirsty? Your stomach is growling and you’re
your throat is
parched? We have all
experienced that. Sometimes we are not
very thirsty, but we drink
anyway, and sometimes we are not hungry but we eat
anyway. But other times we are very
thirsty and very hungry. The feeling is
different depending on the degree of hunger and thirst.
When we search Scripture, there
are many verses regarding hunger and thirst such as Psalm 42:2: “My soul
thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?” So what does this mean to hunger and thirst
for God? First let’s look at the meaning
of these words. In the Greek the
definition for thirst is “1) to suffer thirst, suffer from thirst; 1a)
figuratively, those who are said to thirst who painfully feel their want of,
and eagerly long for, those things by which the soul is refreshed, supported,
strengthened.” For hunger it is “1) to
hunger, be hungry; 1a) to suffer want 1b) to be needy 2) metaphor - to crave ardently, to seek with
eager desire.” Obviously when the Bible
speaks of hunger and thirst for God or the things of God, it is not referring
to physical hunger and thirst. It refers
to “those who are said to thirst who painfully feel their want of, and eagerly
long for, those things by which the soul is refreshed, supported, strengthened”
and “to crave ardently, to seek with eager desire.”
Does this mean that to hunger and
thirst for God is to have a mild want or the thought that it would be nice, but
if I don’t get it, then it is OK? Not at
all! Psalm 63:1 says this: “O God, you are
my God, earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where
there is no water.” David is longing for
God as if he was in a very dry desert.
In a place like this, water is a necessity or you die. That is what David means when he says he
thirsts for God; if he doesn’t find God he will die. That sounds like a very strong desire to
me. That is not a “would be nice but not
necessary” feeling to me. It sounds like
David is desperate, like his spirit is in a desert place and not only wants but
NEEDS God to satisfy that thirst. David
repeats his cry again in Psalm 143:1, 6 “O LORD … I spread out my hands to you;
my soul thirsts for you like a parched land.” And again in Psalm 42:1: “As the
deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God.” Imagine a deer running through the forest from
a predator. After a while his thirst will
be strong and it doesn’t matter if he is close, he MUST find water or he will
die anyway. That is what David is referring
to when he speaks of a dear panting for water.
That is how badly David longs for the presence of God.
But how do we satisfy this hunger
and thirst? Do we just sit around and
hope He comes to us? Again the answer is
found in Scripture, this time in Isaiah 55:1-2 "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. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your
labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and
your soul will delight in the richest
of fare.”
It requires us to go to God and seek Him, to go for Him. But the problem is, many go to God and they
are not hungry or thirsty so they don’t eat or drink of His presence. Others feel a deep need in their spirit for
God so they seek Him. And the good news is
it is free for the asking. This verse in
Isaiah bids those to come to Him who are hungry and thirsty, and He will give
it to them freely without cost. It costs
us nothing more than the desire to find Him and the desire to want more of His
presence.
John 6:35 says “Then Jesus
declared, ‘I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and
he who believes in me will never be thirsty.’”
Jesus is the only way to have our spiritual hunger and thirst
quenched. It requires coming to Him and
believing in Him. This does not mean
that we say we know who Jesus is and that we believe that he existed; it means
that we believe in such a way that we want to know him and believe that what He
says and all He has ever done is true. Jesus
even tells us in Matt. 5:6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for
righteousness, for they will be filled.”
Jesus promises to fill us and we are blessed when we are hungry and
thirsty for Him.
But what happens when we find ourselves
in a place where we are N
OT hungry or thirsty.
I recently found myself in such a place and so I asked myself when that
hunger and thirst disappeared and why it disappeared. I also found myself
asking how to get it back. Immediately
the story in Mark 9 came to mind when the man brought his son to Jesus that was
suffering from an evil spirit. After a conversation with Jesus the father
stated “But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help
us.” (verse 22) Jesus answered ‘If
you can’? Everything
is possible for one who believes.” Immediately the boy’s
father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”(Mark
9:23-24). I found myself, like the boy’s
father, saying to the Jesus “Lord I am hungry and thirsty, please help my lack
of hunger and thirst for you.” It seemed
immediately the Holy Spirit said to me “Why don’t you ask for hunger and thirst
for God?” And so I did. What followed was incredible. It seemed hunger and thirst for God, the
living God came pouring into my soul.
Is this the only way to get or renew your hunger and thirst for
God? Probably not, but what would it
hurt to ask what you need to do if you find yourself in a spiritual famine,
lacking hunger and thirst? If this is
you, take a chance and ask what you must do, or even just ask that Jesus give
you the thirst for Him that you want or that He desires you to have. It won’t hurt. For the Bible also says: “Anyone who asks,
receives” (Matt. 7:8). Jesus wants us
to come and ask and to hunger and thirst for Him. As Rev 22: 17 states: “The Spirit and the bride
say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" Whoever is
thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the
water of life.”
