Every Wednesday morning at 6:00 there is a group of about 4-5 men who would meet for a Man’s time and a “loose” Bible study. I have attended that study ever since I moved here in November of 2005 but this past month made the decision to stop attending. I have begun a study for men at 4:30 (p.m.!!) and I had to make a choice of cutting something out. One of the things that I miss about that morning study is one of the guys is a…how shall I say this…a sweet tooth-lovers dream come true. Jerry is a connoisseur of sweets. Each Wednesday after the study he will stop by the office and drop a sample off to the secretary (and I get to taste it also). Yesterday was no exception. Chocolate cheesecake bars. OH. MY. STARS!! Brownie on the bottom. Layer of cheesecake. More brownie. Topping of Cocoa Krispies and Chocolate.
ONE WORD: YUM!!!!
TWO WORDS: FAT CALORIES
THREE WORDS: THIS IS OTHERWORLDLY
FOUR WORDS: ONE MORE PIECE PLEASE! 😛
If there is a place where bakers go who lead others into sin, Jerry will be at the head of the pack. And guess what? I will follow!! No, let me rephrase that: I will be first in line. All he has to do is dangle that chocolate thing in front of me, give me a whiff of it, and there will be no need for a flute or piccolo. My eyes will glaze over and I will simply say, “Take me to your kitchen!”
All kidding aside, I do have a point. The Bible says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be satisfied.” There is a saying in athletics: YOU. ARE. WHAT. YOU. EAT. Most of you know I cycle. I do it for the enjoyment, but I also do it for the exercise and my own physical well-being. A good cycling weight for me is 200-205. Several years ago I weighed in at 233 pounds. All that wintertime lifting of weights and ice cream-laden spoons had caught up to me. Not only was that a heavy cycling weight, but it was not good on my cholesterol. So the doctor wanted to put me on medicine and I said, “No.” He said, “Okay lose 15 pounds; lower your cholesterol; and see me in 2 months.” I did both, and while he was happy with my weight, he was not happy that my cholesterol was still higher than he wanted (it had dropped 66 points). I refused meds and lowered my weight to 200 and my cholesterol to an acceptable level. How? I changed my eating habits. I refocused my eyes (and taste buds) to healthier fare.
What we are hungry for determines what we eat. That is also true spiritually. If I hunger and thirst after the things of God, I will experience God. With Jerry’s dessert, the more I ate, the more miserable I would become (I stopped at one). But with God, the more you hunger the greater your encounter with God will be. What we hunger for determines our fullness.
How about you? Do you find yourself craving God, and the things of God? Do you find the more you hunger for Him the more you encounter Him, and the more the desire heightens? Do you have any thoughts you would like to share? I would like to hear what you have to say.
Some of my thoughts have been inspired by Surrendered & Untamed by Jason Clark, which I am reading through right now. Run and get this book!
Several thoughts –
1) Love me some sweets. Definitely have a sweet tooth!
2) I busted 221 lbs. in Jan. so eating and exercise habits changed and now I am at 207 and going for about 190-195. Sweets have been cut down.
3) I am reading Radical by David Platt and it challenges with the same idea of craving God more. Only 2 chapters in and very challenging. I would actually recommend it only being in two chapters.My wife is reading a book – Made to Crave by Lysa Terkeurst which is also about craving God.
4) I am not craving God as much as I should and I am working craving him more. Working on it by being more intentional in my readings and thought life. Trying to focus more of my thoughts on God.
Good thoughts my friend!
Don’t you hate it that sweets have to be cut down? I crave me some chocolate most times but ice cream is the biggest culprit. I bought Tami “Made to Crave” for Christmas. Don’t know if she has read it or not. Your heart is good Jim. He will meet your desire. Thanks for the comment.
I’ve realized the more emphasis and weight I put on my own accomplishments, the less I crave God – the less I desire “more” from Him. So, for me, it involves intentionally saying, “less of me, more of you”.
If we would all learn this what a difference it would make. Great point Dustin.
I crave Him more daily. I think that the more we develop our relationship the more we will desire Him.
Absolutely Michael. It is prime that you are craving Him more and more. Your ministry will take on new heights as well. Thanks.
Great analogy Bill. Yes, my experience is that He feeds just the right daily bread. It may not always taste great but it is exactly what I needed. I love that scripture (don’t know where it is)but it says we thirst for Him in a dry land where there is no water. When we thirst and hunger, He cooks something up that is amazing! Have a great day!
I believe you are speaking of Is.58 tom. If not, let me know. But you are right, he gives us our daily bread. Thanks for the input into this conversation.
You’re making me need food really badly.
I could ship it to you but it would be old by then so I might as well eat it. 🙂
Mercy says:
Hi Bill,
I find myself craving for God everyday and I don’t always find it increasing, sometimes I find it decreasing. That is why I have always prayed to God to increase my hunger, passion and thirst for Him and I will continue to pray for that. I also pray He makes me realize that without Him, my soul starves.
I pray that your desire and hunger for God continues Mercy. There will be times of increase and decrease but praying for an increase will get you through it. thanks for your wise comment.
Hi Bill,
I’m wondering about the idea of the sifting, digging, the practice of doing God’s word and the trudging along in our devotional lives. These things lead us to finding the nuggets from God that inspire desire in us and the seeking of Him more.
When we start to get a taste of the good things to come…..
I think that Dustin has a really provoking comment when he says where we start to focus on ‘us’ and what ‘we are going to accomplish in this world’ we lose God.
We need to lay down things on the altar of burnt offering, and the desire for our own ‘success in life’ may have to be one of these sacrifices.
some thoughts.
I think that we have lost the art of sifting, digging, and even the practice of doing God’s Word Linda. It is too much work. I also agree with Dustin’s statement. He is right. Our focus is to always be God and the fame of His Name. Thanks for the comment.
I suppose the ultimate is finding the ‘pearl of great price’ where a man goes and sells all that he has in order to buy the field where the pearl is buried.
Jesus says this is what the kingdom of heaven is like.
🙂
I’ve hungry for God to the point that I’ve felt physical discomfort at the thought of not having communion with Him. It’s a hard feeling but also a pretty darn cool place to be.
What an awesome “pain” to experience Jason! May you find yourself there. Thanks.
We don’t like it many times, but what we crave (in any area of life) will ultimately be subject to our heart and goals. That’s why “diets” fail because it’s a temporary fix instead of a lifestyle. Good thoughts, Bill! Thanks.
Great point Jason! don’t know how many times I have heard people say, “No diet will work if the lifestyle and eating choices don’t change.” Thanks for the input.
I find that the more that my eye are opened to God the more I want to soak in, learn, and explore. It lights a fire in.
…and thanks to you Bill I am now starving 🙂
Sorry for the starving Adam…the physical one 🙂 …but love the spiritual kind. Be a sponge. Thanks for the comment.
Great thoughts Bill!
I grew up in church. My dad is a pastor so I was a “PK”. I went almost every time the doors were open up until the age of 15 or 16. I had been around it all. Seen it all. But I was craving God. Growing up in church so young I always had a great awareness for people. In that I would notice how so many who called themselves “Christians” would act. This gave me a certain point of view of what serving God meant. It wasn’t a good one either. I thought you could just go to church on Sundays and that was enough.
Recently over the past couple of years I have felt a pull to learn more of what serving God really is. I’m a long ways from where I want to be and I never want to stop learning. But now I cant go a day without wanting to examine myself and check to make sure I’m doing what I need to do to get closer to God. To not be one who merely goes to church. I want to have a true relationship with him. I want more of his wisdom and knowledge. I want more of his love so I can share it with others. I want to live a life that when a young person looks at me they will see Jesus. Not half Jesus and half world or 1/4 Jesus and 3/4 world. 🙂
Although not a PK, I grew up in church also. My mom made sure of that! 🙂 But I too came to a point of wanting my own faith. I always encouraged my girls to search for a faith of their own,not mine or their mom’s. keep searching for that surrender. Love your thought and thank you for it.
The thing about hungering for God is that he is always more than what we expect. This is a good thing. It’s almost like Joshua. When Moses had his time with God at the Tabernacle, he would go home and so did the tribes. Joshua, not so much. He stood around and worshipped while everyone went home. That dude was hungry. I want to be that dude.
Oh yeah Moe! I want to join you. I love your comparison of Moses and Joshua. Thanks for you insightful comment.
I have a pretty good hunger for God, Hiw words, His ways. Most of the time. It is when I get tired that I struggle terribly. It is a known blind spot. But it is getting better.
Recognizing when the hunger is not there is important Matt. Glad you know that. Thanks for taking the time to come by.
Bill, you managed to me feel hungry, and then feel guilty about being hungry (in the physical sense) haha!
I find when I lose focus on God, my entire walk stagnates. It’s dry, dull, and just a mess. Yet, when I hunger for God, not only does He feed me, but He opens my eyes to deeper things. I need more of that!
Jon: wish I could say I am sorry but I would be less than honest. 🙂 So true about focus. It can lead to quite a mess. Keep that hunger. Thanks for coming by.
I like being hungry for God, since He uses bread and wine as symbols of His covenants all through The Scriptures. Yum. Bread…wine…oh yes.
???
If you are first in line for sweets then I would be right behind you. I’m a hudge sweet person.
I have a desire to draw closer to God and His glory. I find when I’m drawing close to God I desire even more encounters with Him. this is why I have been trying to be more consistent in doing the things in which will help me get closer to God.
Just so you get behind me. 🙂 Good to hear you have a strong desire for God, Dan. It takes effort to maintain that hunger. Thanks for coming by.
Hungry:
Yep. I always seem to be hungry for food and the waist now shows it.
I have always been a seeker of God and thought about His promise frequently.
It wasn’t till a very few years back did that quest become an unquenching thirst of the living waters from God ( note I did not mention hunger or food).
That is when I began servitude, maningful prayer, intimate communications, and letting Jesus lead me rather than follow. I now always am open for a new direction from Jesus. It is better to be led than to be a follower.
Good to hear that you hunger for God Larry. You have shown an outgrowth of what happens when we crave God. Thanks for the input.