This past Sunday we sang a song which had this chorus:
“We are hungry, we are hungry, we are hungry for more of You/ We are thirsty, O Jesus, we are thirsty for more of You.”
To be honest, and I know this is up for grabs (discussion), I’m not sure the real desire is for more of God. The real issue is for Him to have more of me. That may seem miniscule to some, so am just saying it (and still working through it).
At the same time, I understand the gist of the song. There should be in the heart of every Christ-follower a hunger and thirst to know Jesus more. (Again, if I am double-speaking then remember I am thinking it through). The whole idea of “be filled with the Spirit” is being controlled by the Spirit. That comes from Him owning more of me, filling every room in my “house” with His presence.
There is something I am really sure about though: We can’t take people where we haven’t been. We can’t give what we don’t have. This really goes for all walks of life, you know? I can’t talk to someone about the dangers of drinking because I have never had a drink. But I can talk to someone about the dangers of porn or about riding bicycles.
My post here gave the idea that I didn’t think much. I do…as someone very strongly reminded me in a personal email. I stand in front of people every Sunday as God’s spokesman, hopefully sharing with them some of my personal journey/study with the Lord. Forbid that I should stand in front of people with nothing to say from God.
A life honed in private at the Master’s feet will reveal itself in public before hungering and thirsting hearts. (I’d ask you to tweet that if I tweeted. 🙂 )
I want to hunger and thirst for Jesus. If that means to want more of Him, then I stand corrected. Either way, I want Him to control more of me.
Any thoughts?
I wish I could hunger and thirst for more of Jesus (God) also.
But that is just not who we are. We are quite content to run our own show. To be our own little gods.
But He does seek after us and grab hold of us and make us His own, nonetheless.
“In our faithlessness…He remains faithful.”
That “being our own little gods” seems to be the cause of this whole thing way back in the garden. That was the lie of the serpent “you will be like God.”
That’s it, Bill.
But He still wants us!
What a God!
Great post Bill. I am particularly interested in your statement: “We can’t take people where we haven’t been. We can’t give what we don’t have”
While every bit of the above statement is true, I still believe we can give what we don’t have in many ways.
Your a Leader. Because you Pastor a Church? Nope. One tends to pick up on the ethos and characteristics through interaction both in person and in this blog.
You state above that you can talk to folks about certain dangers, which on the surface might elude to personal failings. The point is, being humble, recognizing we ALL sinful, wicked people, I believe, is enough to provide empathy and counsel to others if we haven’t necessarily struggled with the specific challenge of another person.
You are much more skilled than I at counseling. But from the leadership perspective, I think a true LEADER can be a catalyst for guiding, mentoring, and developing others no matter what the situation or challenge. The leader might not have had the same “failing”, but as long as they have recognized they have failed they can grant empathy.
I understand what you are saying Andy. I reckon my thoughts were that I can take people “so far,” especially on the surface, but I fail when it comes to completely understanding and being empathetic. I know chew is a weakness for you. I have never had a tobacco product near my mouth, so while I empathize with you and your struggle, I don’t understand the pull. I do agree with you last paragraph though for sure. Thanks for your thoughts.
What I find is that the more time I spend with Him, the more I hunger and thirst for Him.
That is the way it is supposed to be.
Good thoughts. Sometimes something that seems like a quibble or minutiae to others, can help you to understand something more deeply, to make it more personal.
I have found that to be true Daniel.
You deep-thinkin’-man-o-the-cloth, you…
That’s a good point. As much as we want our Father to do the work, in which He mostly certainly does, He does call us to “draw night unto Me and I will draw night unto you.”
Now you got me thinking… which I try to avoid at all costs!
Okay…flail away. 🙂 The draw near Scripture is an important one for sure. As for the thinking: good. Someone else needs to suffer along with me.
I identify with the 2nd paragraph, the issue is more Him having more of me. But that’s where being our own little gods (thanks, Adam) comes in … WE have to let go! And the more we let go of ourselves He will graciously give us more of Himself. In that process – if we allow it – I think WE would begin to hunger and thirst for more of Him … as it should be.
But often some of us are just way too selfish …
I agree with this thought. I believe that believers have all that they will get of Jesus given that you can’t get much more than being one spirit with Him. Yielding more to Him I can understand.
Hi Bill,
That’s interesting: the debate/distinction between wanting more of his presence in our life vs. giving him more of ourselves. Hmm… It’s probably both, huh? I should hunger for him more and more, but also realize that I have all of him (100%) and just need to submit to him more and more too. Good ponderings. 🙂
Re your comment on my post “You Only Need to Resist for a Little While,” Identity. Yeah, that’s something I think we can all relate with too. I appreciate that the things we wrestle with AREN’T what define us. 🙂
Thanks,
Jennifer Dougan
http://www.jenniferdougan.com
I find this fascinating. I do like to run my own show. But I have no interest in being a little God. If I wanted to be a God it would probably be a big one. And talking snakes are not where I place my hope and dreams.
Andy is pretty much on the money.
I just do not understand the invisible friend in the sky thing. Please forgive me.
I tweeted that for you!
And I’m with you, I want Him to control more of me. I too often get in His way.
Sometimes I just don’t know what more I can give him of me when I have given Him all I have. Of course, He always asks me “Have you really?”