11/20/2024
Hungering after righteousness and longing for God. Today I am contemplating the intense desire for the Lord's presence in our lives, and what better place to go for an understanding of such a longing than to the Psalms, and the words of a more recent pastor… Charles Spurgeon.
“O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.”
Psalms 63:1 ESV
"It is well to have longings, and the more intense they are the better. The Lord will satisfy soul longings, however great and all- absorbing they may be. Let us greatly long, for God will greatly give." – Charles Spurgeon
When we long for God he feeds us and quenches our thirst. Our Lord doesn't wish for us to be without Him or to long for Him without coming to us in all his glory. God fills our souls, even as He provides for our daily needs.
“For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things.”
Psalms 107:9 ESV
Spurgeon also speaks to God's provision for our spiritual hunger. He experienced this same overwhelming desire himself and understood the longing. He wrote encouragement for our plight in this way...
"Come, let us not fret because we long and hunger, but let us hear the voice of the psalmist as he also longs and hungers to see God magnified." - Charles Spurgeon
In writing these words Spurgeon was referring to Psalms 107, but there are many other references to our spiritual provision in the Psalms.
“Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man!”
Psalms 107:8 ESV
Do you remember the intense longing you felt for God when you first asked Jesus to come into your life? Have there been other times as well when you sought Him in tears and prayer; seeking His desire for your life or to just be in His presence? If there haven't been those times when the hunger for His presence has been nearly overwhelming, then try fasting, praying, and searching scripture until you feel that arousal and surge of your spirit.
God doesn't intend for our relationship with Him to be lukewarm or mundane... He seeks to fill every crevice of our being with His joy and love. In our longing, we should never hunger, because we have been provided with a bread that satisfies and we should not thirst because we are given the very water of life to drink... Jesus Christ.
“Jesus then said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."”
John 6:32-33 ESV
Prayer:
Thank you Father for kindling my heart, and fanning my spirit into a spiritual flame. Father, my heart aches for your presence and touch, feed me with the bread of Christ and give me the water of life to satisfy the thirst I have for you. Lord, never let my desire for you subside nor the need I have for your Word ebb. Let me be filled to overflowing with your love and joy as I follow your will for my life. Guide me Father, and forever let me feel the warmth of your Son's hand in mine. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you my God who hears my prayers, feels my heart ache, and answers both with your embrace. Holy are you who is the provider of all things, and it is you who showers me with mercy and grace. Help me to be a thankful and obedient child who stays awake in wait for you, and longs for the sound of your voice with great expectation. Lord, I pray that my faith will be sufficient, and that when you judge me on that faithful day of judgement I will be deemed righteous, and given the gift of eternity in your presence… I pray that I will be filled with your love and desire for me, and that I will love you in the fullness of your expectation. Praised be your name Father, and great is my joy and peace when I am with you… when I am loving, and being loved by you.
Amen
“How precious is your steadfast love, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights. For with you is the fountain of life; in your light do we see light.”
Psalm 36:7-9 ESV
“As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?”
Psalm 42:1-2 ESV
“I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.”
John 17:23 ESV
Rich Forbes