“O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, In a dry and weary land where there is no water.” (Psalms 63:1)
Food.
A necessity of life.
One we all require, one most of us enjoy, and one that a few of us think too much about! There are, in fact, a few (or perhaps many?) of us who have the constant desire to have something in our mouths. We are never fully satisfied, even though the stomach may be already complaining of being too full. We have a “food addiction”.
Those last two sentences describe persons like myself who sometimes turn to food to satisfy needs not necessarily related to need for food; but as I prepared my longed-for, planned-out, much anticipated breakfast this morning, a new “food-related” thought occurred to me: oh that I would long for, plan out and anticipate my spiritual food as much as I do the physical kind!
The thought set me back a few paces. I mean, I spend time with God–Quality time!–first thing every morning, right? And I also try to spend quality time with Him before going to bed each evening. Isn’t that enough? Doesn’t that indicate that I truly long for and anticipate my time with Him?
I’ve met a few people–very few, I’ll admit–who care absolutely nothing about eating. They can go for hours, even days, without eating, and never feel the slightest desire to fill their stomachs. In fact, most of these people tell me they eat only because they know it’s good for them and they have to do it. Is that how I view my time with God? Do I force myself to be with Him only because I know it’s good for me? If you had asked me yesterday, I would have responded with a resounding “No!” But today I’m not so sure. One thing is clear to me: if I’m only spending time with God because it’s good for me, then I’m doing it for the most wrong reason possible.
In all fairness, I often long to be with God; but when I sit back and analyze my reasons on these occasions, don’t they generally have to do with the fact that I am going through some trouble times? Don’t I usually want something from Him? Something like healing? Peace of mind and heart? Guidance? It’s true that God delights in being asked to supply our needs; but what about simply desiring to sit at His feet? Delighting in His presence? Absorbing His love and grace?
Life is full of suffering: sickness, death, relationship problems, lack of finances, job difficulties, problems with the kids, neighbors, pets, in-laws…You name it! And anyone who has read this post for long knows that I encourage you with all my heart to take these to God, to surrender them into His hands, to surrender yourselves to His will, to let Him carry you through; but a new idea is burning on my heart as I type: Why not pursue Him with all of our hearts, souls, minds and spirits–Not just when problems are knocking at the door, but–ALL the time! Why not pursue Him in the same way those of us with food (or other!) addictions long for, anticipate, seek and prepare our “gratification”? Why not pursue a…”God Addiction”!
It’s true that the word “addiction” usually carries a negative connotation–a connotation of too much or uncontrolled desire. Yet we can never have too much of God! Think about it: Trouble comes knocking at the door, we wouldn’t need to try to find Jesus or figure out how to hear His voice over the hard times screaming in your ear. We wouldn’t need a crash-course in taking a stand in faith. Instead, we would know God so intimately that there wouldn’t be a single doubt in our minds: He will take care of us, our families, our work situations, or whatever the problem may be. The results would be far better than simply running to Him every time there’s a problem; rather, the results would bring unspeakable joy, unsinkable faith, unstoppable love! Why not truly take the time and effort to truly fall in love with Jesus–today?
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” (Matt 5:6)
In his love,
Lyn
Lynona Gordon Chaffart, Speech-Language Pathologist, mother of two, Author — “Aboard God’s Train — A Journey With God Through the Valley of Cancer”, Author and Moderator for The Nugget, a tri-weekly internet newsletter, and Scriptural Nuggets, a website devoted to Christian devotionals and inspirational poems, with Answers2Prayer Ministries. Follow Lyn on Twitter @lynchaffart.