Ever feel hunger pangs?
I’m not talking about your tummy growling or the desire to nibble on a little something. I’m talking about the pain you feel because you don’t have what you need to function. When experiencing hunger pains, people will do almost anything to satisfy their hunger. Desperate hunger calls for desperate measures. When they finally obtain food, a person may wolf it down or, if they have a modicum of self-control, they may slowly relish each bite of that savory delight, appreciating every aspect of their long-desired morsel.
On the other hand, most of us who are well-fed scarcely give food a second thought. We don’t stress over not having something in the pantry or on the table. Sustenance is readily obtainable at our local grocery store or fast-food drive-through. We slurp and munch our way through our breakfast, lunch, and dinner (or second breakfast, elevensies, afternoon tea, and supper – hat tip to the Lord of the Rings) with scarcely a care. We don’t really appreciate how good we have it until we’re hungry. Then, we pay attention to our hunger and its pains. Food becomes our focus, our goal, our singular desire.
Why don’t we see a nationwide move of God? Why don’t we see God moving in our congregations? For that matter, why don’t we experience God moving in our lives?
Because we’re not hungry enough.
“What, Dr. Jay? Don’t we have vibrant congregational worship services? We have a kick-butt, studio-quality worship team with tracks to make sure we play and sing together without going over our allotted fifteen-minute praise and worship time. (We don’t want to overdo it, you know. People might call us fanatics.) Don’t you know how we spend a whole ten minutes in prayer when we get together? (After all, people get fidgety if we go too long, and there’s that whole fanatical thing again.) We even read a few verses in our Bibles every week. (After all, it’s so tough to understand and, you know, fanatical.) And don’t forget that we had a tent during that recent civic celebration where we gave out free hotdogs and chips to promote our church. We even have an app on our phone that sends us daily devotionals. How can you say we’re not hungry enough for God?”
Because, generally speaking, those things haven’t changed our lives, our congregations, and our nation.
Programmed worship services, studio-quality musicians, half-hearted prayer times, Bible snippets, church promo events, and quickie devotionals are simply the junk food of an over-fed Body of Christ, unappreciative of the Bread of Life and Living Water of God.
We’re not hungry enough. At least not for the real banquet of the presence, power, and purpose our Heavenly Father wants us to consume and dish up for those who are starving.
If I’m not hungry, I won’t bother getting up off my tuchus to go to the kitchen for a snack or a meal. If there’s nothing in the fridge, then I’ll make a greater effort to hop in my car and drive the few miles to my local grocery store. If the grocery store is closed for any reason, I’ll begin to scour Google Maps to find a source of sustenance and drive miles to get what I need.
Because we consume substandard spiritual junk food and call it nourishment, we barely make the effort to get what our Heavenly Father knows we desperately need. Most of us who are filled with spiritual junk food scarcely give the Lord a second thought. The problem, as I see it, is we don’t feel enough spiritual pain to motivate us to pursue what really satisfies our souls and strengthens our spirits. It’s a truism that when people feel their spiritual need, they turn to God because they’re hungry. When they don’t, people won’t because they’re not. We don’t really appreciate how good it is to walk with the Lord until we’re hungry for Him.
If we’re hungry, we appreciate whatever we have, regardless of how meager the portion may be. If we’re hungry for the Lord, we value any moment we’re with Him, especially when we’re in that “dark night of the soul” time.
If we’re hungry, we grasp what we’re given and are reluctant to let go. So, too, when we’re spiritually hungry. When the Lord moved profoundly in my home church in 1983, I was astounded by how spiritually hungry people would show up early and stay very late into the evening to spend time in worship and prayer. We refused to leave because we were feasting on the Lord’s presence and His word. We relished each bite of that savory delight, appreciating every aspect of their long-desired time together with Him. This move of God continued for weeks.
If we’re desperately hungry, we’ll take desperate measures. During that remarkable move of God, people were so desperate for the Lord that they altered their family schedules and their whole lives. The word inconvenience was unknown to us who were hungry for God.
Just as hunger shows in the body and actions of someone hungry for food, the same is true for the spiritually hungry person. Sad to say, I don’t see much hunger in most of those who claim to be born-again Christians.
Many Christians I know don’t have a zeal for the Lord that signals spiritual hunger. You see more Christians at a church lunch than at a prayer service. Nothing can stop a hungry person from eating a meal, and yet, many Christians actually debate “whether they’re up for a worship service” on any given Sunday.
It’s fat and sassy versus lean and hungry.
But could our nation’s spiritual hunger be rising? Are more people suddenly experiencing spiritual hunger pangs?
I’ve read reports of God moving around the United States, particularly on college campuses (klove.com/news/faith/god-is-still-on-the-move-hundreds-of-tennessee-college-kids-get-saved-baptized-50113, stream.org/god-is-moving-on-our-university-campuses/). Bible sales are up, fueled by first-time buyers and new versions (wsj.com/business/media/sales-of-bibles-are-booming-fueled-by-first-time-buyers-and-new-versions-d402460e, cbn.com/news/us/bible-sales-are-skyrocketing-whats-going).
Is there sufficient spiritual hunger rising in our nation to drive people to “taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8)? I hope so, especially in my own life.
I yearn for the days of the Charismatic Renewal movement (mid-1960s to late 1970s) when spiritual hunger swept through our land and the Lord laid out a grand feast for all who would accept His invitation.
Throughout the Body of Christ, I want to see extended worship times however they are led. I want to see God’s people in deep prayer gatherings led by the Spirit, lasting as long as the Lord wants His people to pray. I want to see more zealous Bible studies because people are hungry for God’s word. I want to see the entire Body of Christ putting God’s word into action with community service that demonstrates Jesus’ self-sacrificial life just because we’re hungry for God. If we’re truly hungry for the Lord, He will be our focus, our goal, and our singular desire.
I’m not there yet. But I’m asking for the Lord to increase my spiritual craving.
May the Lord bring this nation to a state of spiritual hunger that He would so love to satisfy in immense measure.
Sources:
God Is Still On The Move: Hundreds Of Tennessee College Kids Get Saved, Baptized, klove.com/news/faith/god-is-still-on-the-move-hundreds-of-tennessee-college-kids-get-saved-baptized-50113
God Is Moving on Our University Campuses, stream.org/god-is-moving-on-our-university-campuses
Sales of Bibles Are Booming, Fueled by First-Time Buyers and New Versions, wsj.com/business/media/sales-of-bibles-are-booming-fueled-by-first-time-buyers-and-new-versions-d402460e
Bible Sales Are Skyrocketing: What’s Going On?, cbn.com/news/us/bible-sales-are-skyrocketing-whats-going
Shining the Light of God’s Truth on the Road Ahead
Pastor Jay Christianson
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