Hunger: Passions Pursuit

Have you ever seen a snickers commercial? You know the one where someone is cranky and not acting like themselves. They are hungry, so someone hands them a snickers bar and says, “you’re not you when you’re hungry, eat a Snickers!” How about the term “hangry?” You know someone who is so hungry they are angry.

A couple of weekends ago, my husband and I went with our daughter and her boyfriend to buy some boots for his birthday. A day they had been planning and looking forward to for a few months. As the day came, it seemed like all my daughter could focus on throughout the whole boot store was how hungry she was. A day that she was once excited about was now taken over by a desperation for food. She could hardly focus on boots as she had skipped lunch and was now taken over and “not herself,” due to hunger. Don’t worry, we fed her, and she was completely fine.

However the following Sunday as Nick was opening service, he asked, “are you hungry?” A question I had heard so many times before but honestly this time it convicted me! God began speaking and reminding me of my daughter while shopping the previous day. Her excitement and focus was completely taken over by her desire to eat. How long has it been since you were that hungry for God? 

I have been to several other countries on mission trips. But none as heart wrenching as Uganda. A place where I would see one tiny pot of food to feed 20-30 mouths, and it would be the only meal they would receive that day. It brings your heart as an American to such a place of reckoning. We as Americans have never truly experienced hunger like that. I’m not talking about skipping a meal or not getting your snack. I’m talking about true spiritual hunger and desperation for more of God. 

“Are you hungry?” What a question to present to people. A group that would nod, holler, and get excited in response. Sure, we come to church on Sunday and Wednesday. We are active in church, we read and pray, and we don’t live like we used to. Of course we are hungry otherwise we wouldn’t be here…right? But just showing up to the table like a buffet on Sunday doesn’t mean you are hungry. Snacking a little on Sunday Doesn’t mean you are hungry. We so often snack around a bit on Sunday; a little on worship, some on the message, and if I’m feeling it, I may get prayer after. But all too often we go home, and our hunger remains unanswered throughout the week. My kids, when they were little, loved to snack. They would eat breakfast and want a snack, lunch followed by a request for a snack, dinner would come and of course no one could go to bed without a snack. Some days regular food would not do, and all they wanted was snacks, food that tasted good but offered no nutritional value to their body. So, while the juice and crackers satisfied for a bit, as their mom I had to make them pull up to the table and EAT. 

“Are you hungry?” If only we answered that truthfully: I want to be but I am so full of this world that I left no room for God, I haven’t eaten in so long that I am dying, I feel so attacked by Satan that I don’t desire spiritual food right now, my spouse, my bills, I’ve gone to the wrong places – pleasure, performance, or possessions; a job, marriage, another vacation… The reality is that if we looked in the mirror at our spiritual state many of us would realize that we haven’t been “hungry” in a long time. Instead of asking “Are you hungry?” we should be asking “where is your hunger?” 

Let’s define a few things. Hunger is defined by Merriam-Webster as: a craving or urgent need for food or a specific nutrient, a strong desire: craving. Spiritual hunger is a deep craving or urgent need for more of God in your life. Spiritual hunger is the awareness of your need for God. 

Physically when we skip a meal or two our body will start to experience some effects: low blood sugar which causes you to not think straight, irritability, confusion, headache, nausea, fatigue, increased cortisol which causes anger and stress.

Skipping meals can cause slow metabolism and actually cause you to gain weight. But did you know when you go a long time without eating it puts your body into survival mode. When your body goes into starvation or survival mode it will break down the fat and muscle tissue in your body to gain energy. You will experience hair loss, skin changes, brittle nails, and frequent illnesses. Your body will go into malnutrition and will be unable to absorb nutrients properly to keep the body functioning normally. If we ignore our bodies long enough, hunger actually subsides and will lead to death. The same is true spiritually. Many of us have ignored our spiritual hunger long enough and now we think we are not hungry when really, we are spiritually dying. It is a danger when we are no longer spiritually hungry. 

When you are hungry you begin to get focused and locked in. When you are hungry it’s all you think about. You begin to awaken when your hunger for God consumes you and overtakes your life. Hungry people are dangerous. Hunger will cause you to become desperate and break out of your pretty little box. I am afraid many in the body of Christ are no longer experiencing spiritual hunger. They have sent their spiritual being into starvation mode and are experiencing malnutrition. So many times, we pull up to the table on Sunday and Wednesday like a snacky toddler or a crabby child that doesn’t want to eat and we nibble a little leaving ultimately unsatisfied. We try to live on spiritual cotton candy fluff and puff to get us through. We don’t feed the craving for more; we are not consuming God's Word and we have chosen the diet of malnutrition. 

How hungry are you? Did you realize that spiritual growth is determined by your spiritual hunger? Unlike physical growth, spiritual growth is an option. We have to be intentional about growing. If I am not craving and pursuing the things of God in my life, then those things are not growing. What I feed in my life is what will grow. My hunger will cause me to consume all that I can of God. Although we will be satisfied, this kind of hunger will cause you to want more. If I am consuming all that I can of God through worship, prayer, reading the Bible, going to church, and surrounding myself with other hungry believers; then my spirit man has no choice but to grow. This kind of living takes the requirement from religion to be a certain way and turns it into a passionate way of living that places your whole identity in Christ rather than placing Christ as a part of who you are. But if I pull up to the table with little to no hunger and just nitpick around on sweet things that I like rather than what I need to sustain myself, then the growth that I desire won’t happen. Instead of maturing, I stay riding my tricycle around the mountain again while fighting with immaturity. 

Maybe you are reading this and realizing the parallel from the physical manifestation of not eating to your spiritual state of hunger. Maybe you are feeling worn out, dried up, wondering how you got to this place in your walk with God. Let’s talk about how you can stir up spiritual hunger: 

Prayer: prayer is the temperature gauge for believers. If Christian’s are not praying, they are spiritually on a deathbed. Our prayer life tells us how hungry we are. If you are not praying, start now. It doesn’t have to be fancy or hours long. But start somewhere and make time. Talk to God like you would your spouse or best friend. 

Read the Bible: how can you hunger for something you know nothing about? How can you want more of God if you don’t know Him or spend time with Him? I know sometimes reading the Bible when you spiritually feel dry is like eating broccoli or a vegetable that you don’t like. But you want more; we want to awaken our spiritual hunger not be satisfied with fluff and puff. 

Fast: I know, I know we just did 21 days of fasting. But there is no better way to stir up spiritual hunger than to fast! Deny your physical cravings to awaken spiritual longing for more of God.

The truth is, many of us aren’t spiritually hungry because our flesh is out of control. Fasting biblically is denying yourself physical food if tolerated medically and replacing it with time spent with God. Getting off of Facebook or denying yourself junk food may be good but not what fasting actually is.

Get around hungry people: typically, when you get around hungry people their desire for more of God will rub off on you and challenge you! It’s like placing dry logs next to the fire, eventually the dry logs will catch fire as well. 

Worship: worship puts you at the feet of Jesus. You will begin to experience His manifest presence. Worship causes your focus and heart to shift back to God. Worship will cause you to fall in love once again. 

Make hunger a necessity: I know you won’t always want to but hunger for God anyways. You can stir yourself up, you can choose Him over your circumstances. 

Ask God to make you spiritually hungry again: Matthew 7:7-8 NASBS says, "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. [8] For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. So, ask, seek, and knock. Ask God to give you a greater hunger for Him, His Word, and for spiritual growth. Ask Him to reveal Himself to you in a greater way. Ask Him to give you a greater desire for His presence and a longing to know Him more. Ask Him to give you a love for the secret place.

Only dead people don’t get hungry. When we eat in the natural, we can fill ourselves until we feel like we are going to burst. It doesn’t take but a few hours and we are hungry again. Spiritually we should be feasting daily on the things of God, the desperation for more should not cease. The awareness of His Presence and our need for Him is a lifestyle not just a Sunday morning practice. Matthew 5:6 NASB says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” That means those that desire, crave, or need more of God in their lives; will have their fill. God is attracted to the hungry! Revival comes when men and women get desperate for God and long for more. 

I will leave you with a prayer and I hope you pray it for yourself: Lord stir up my spiritual hunger. Forgive me for filling myself with that which gratified my flesh rather than filling my spirit. I ask that you give me a greater desire for You. Awaken my hunger for more of You. Give me a revelation of who You are. Remove all distractions and teach me to seek after you.  

In Jesus name -Amen-