Hungry For God

I love food. Not that I am this great cook or that we go out to fine cuisine restaurants, but I just enjoy sitting around a table with family and friends, eating food. Maybe I like food so much because when I get hungry, I indeed get hangry. And that’s the truth.

I can easily get hungry in other parts of my life too. Hungry for a break from the noise of this world, where I need just to sit in silence. Not in a hermit type of way, but in a sitting in a chair, not thinking about what lies ahead, and just being. I can get hungry for that feeling of acceptance and security, much like every other human on this earth. The problem is, is that acceptance and security can’t truly be found on this side of Heaven, because our citizenship isn’t here on this earth.

I also can get hungry for a mental checkout. Those moments in life when I mentally take a break and scroll through social media, like Facebook or Instagram. It’s not really accomplishing anything, except I’m not thinking about life at the current moment, and seeing how every one else is living their lives. But is it really accomplishing anything?

I can get hungry in many ways in life, but am I hungry for the most important thing in this world? God, Himself? I found myself asking that question the other day, as I was reading through the book of Proverbs. If you ever are looking for little nuggets of wisdom, check out this book! Some of those couplets are incredibly convicting, sometimes a little humorous, yet filled with so much truth.

I had to take a step back and ask myself, do I crave and hunger for the Word of God, like I do other things in life? Like I do the enjoyment of food? Do I crave God’s Word more than the desire to check my social media accounts?

Is the time I spend in God’s Word, greater than the time I spend checking my phone?

No, it is not. That’s a hard truth to admit. And it sounds terrible, doesn’t it? But how true is that for many of us? I have been in the process of recalibrating my days. When I have a mental moment, what do I think about? When I have time to just sit, what do I do? Am I soaking in God and who He is, when I get a chance? I am NOT saying you can’t have social media accounts. I think there is a great beauty in them, to be honest. Like I’ve said before, without them, I wouldn’t have connected with the people I have. Praise be to God for the gift of connection through the internet. Truly. But too much of a good thing, is a bad thing. But the only thing that too much of a good thing is a good thing, is with God and His Word.

I want to crave God the way I crave everything else in this world. I want to crave God the same way I crave to go on a walk every day. Well actually, I want to crave Him more.

So what does this look like? I am a stay at home mom and I know that this is going to look different for EVERYONE. This is just what works for me. First, I try to do my devotions, which currently consists of reading through a chapter of Proverbs each day, before Mazy wakes up. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. More often than not it doesn’t work, so I find another pocket of time during the day. I also try to pray throughout my day and have a continual conversation with God. When I’m taking a shower, folding laundry, putting away dishes, etc. Then when I’m driving, I always try to take a gander at the beauty of this world – it just puts my focus back on him. I try to spend time with Mazy, reading a Bible story or book, that puts our focus on God. I enjoy listening to Christian music as well, which helps keep my focus in the right place and speaks truth into my life. And pray – an obvious. But during this time, I try to involve Mazy and ask her what she is thankful for, what she needs to ask God for forgiveness for, and where we need help. It’s always interesting to hear what she comes up with, but it keeps our focus in the right place.

Hungering for God isn’t something we always think of. But the more we hunger for God and the more we delve into His Word, the more hungry we will become. It’s not rocket science – it’s just the truth.