Deuteronomy 8:3 says, “He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” I’m in such a season, where God is teaching me to rid myself of self-sufficiency, of my own feeble attempts to determine my proper spiritual diet, and He is allowing me to fully feast on the very depths on His heart. It’s the most beautiful lesson, and I relate so much to Hosea 2:14, which says, “Therefore, behold, I will allure her, will bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfort to her.” Do you feel God alluring you into the wilderness with Him? GO. So often He will tenderly call us to times of rest in Him, to simply spend our time sitting at His feet, leaning in to hear His sweet voice teach us. One of the greatest lies the enemy wants us to believe is that God delights more in our servitude than our desire for Him. How much of the body of Christ’s mentality is still that of a Martha versus a Mary (Luke 10:38-42)? He causes us to hunger and thirst to draw us gently unto Himself, the only One who can satisfy.
I love this Sue Monk Kidd quote: “Letting go is like releasing a tight spring at the core of yourself, one you’ve spent your whole life winding and maintaining. When you let go, you grow still and quiet. You learn to sit among the cornstalks and wait with God.” When I let down my defenses, my attempts at self-preservation, I just lean, I fall into the restful embrace of Christ. He whispers, “I’m in control. Trust me. I love you. I have your best interests at heart. Fix your eyes on Me and on nothing else. Run to My voice. I am Your goal, and I am the One that gives you your each breath as you run this race. I’m your Father, I relentlessly pursue you and I promise to never let you go. Hold fast to Me. Be obedient in each step I illuminate, I promise to get you home. I know your heart. Trust me; I love you wholly. I am constant.” When I let go of control, of the reigns, of the steering wheel, and cry out for God to fill me and feed me with what He knows I need, peace comes.
In Psalm 63:1, David cries out, “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 was most assuredly a man after God’s own heart. His life was a magnificent display of the grace, love, and power of God. Why? Because David recognized his hunger, his need, his dependence on God and God alone to sufficiently satisfy his deep spiritual hunger. In John 6:35, Jesus says, “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.” We have to decide to come to Jesus to be fed fully. And as Heidi Baker says, “We must press into His presence and be filled with His real fresh food every day or we will grow stale.” We will be spiritually malnourished if we don’t keep seeking Him daily. As Smith Wigglesworth stated, "If you are in the same place today as you were yesterday, you are a backslider." There is no end to the depth of God, of the love of Christ; there is no reason why we should not be desperate for more and more of Him.
God is the Creator of the universe, the Love of our souls---we should all delight in the fact that we have intimate access to relationship with Him, just as Smith Wigglesworth did. He said that every morning, “I jump out of bed! I dance before the Lord for at least 10 to 12 minutes - high speed dancing. I jump up and down and run around my room telling God how great he is, how wonderful He is, how glad I am to be associated with Him and to be His child." I want to be so full by feasting on God’s presence and Word that I overflow with thanksgiving and love for Him; how often do I leave Him lower on my list of affections. He is worthy of all my devotion, all my affection, all my love, all my dependence, all my praise and all my heart.
Don’t grow stagnant.
Don’t settle.
Don’t dim.
Catapult yourself into His arms. Matthew 7:7-8 says, “"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.” God delights in revealing Himself to us, to providing for us, and He gives good and gracious gifts of Himself to those who ask. Hunger is an escort, as Misty Edwards sings, to the deeper things of God. It is meant to allure us to Him. Blessed are you who hunger and thirst, for you will be filled. Be hungry. Daily. Turn to Him. “Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to Him, for God is our refuge.” (Psalm 62:8)
Let go.
Lean in.
He’s right here. He always is.
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