How to help others hunger…

What are you reading these days? What are you wrestling with? Where are you feeling conviction? How are you killing sin and choosing life? Where are you hopeful? Where are battling hopelessness? How are you specifically learning to love your enemies and neighbors? Where do you see God at work in and around you?

These are the kinds of questions I love to ask, and answer. Last week I was so energized by meeting up with someone who had a really hungry soul. Nothing energizes me like being with someone who’s hungry for more of God.  I remember one gal, when she and her husband first came came to our church, she came over to my house and when we sat down she began with, “Ok I’m just going to pretend like we’ve known each other for 10 years and just cut to the chase.” She then began sharing her current journey, where was was struggling and wrestling with God, where she wanted victory, where she felt hopeful, all of it. I loved it!

Her hunger for God increased my own hunger for God.

I recently read The Power that Changes the World, a hope-filled call to bring the power of the gospel to every nook and cranny of our world, to neighbors and nations and businesses and schools and organizations and political systems, through the transforming power of supernatural wisdom. Specifically, I appreciated the author’s attempt to bring together two arms of Christianity that are often estranged from one another:

First, those who live according to biblical wisdom.  These guys love the Proverbs, and live according to good, godly ethics, morals, and stewardship. They often live lives of excellence, gain positions of power, and have much opportunity to influence those around them. Great! However, they are often not accepting of the overtly supernatural. That was just for the establishing of the church, now we can do it all through natural means.

Second, we have those who live according to the biblically supernatural. These guys love the gospels and the book of Acts. They may see astounding signs, miracles, and do what seem like crazy things for the kingdom of God, but they often lack tact, follow-through, stability, and credibility because they lack wisdom or integrity in their daily lives. They sometimes neglect the wisdom portions of Scripture in favor of the juicier parts. 😉

Now, of course these are gross generalizations, but I definitely see these two camps alive and not-so-well because we need both!

Jesus’ life weds the two. We, as Christ followers, should be the wisest of the world, should have the most integrity, should be the best equipped to thrive in life, should be leading in creativity and ingenuity, should reflect excellence in our personal lives. AND, we should be empowered with the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit to do what only He can do. To do the works of Jesus and even greater works. We have access to God Himself, the Creator of heaven and earth, our lives should reflect something otherworldly!

We are children of God!  We are citizens of heaven walking through this world, we have a Living Hope that is not just “going to heaven when we die” it is the Kingdom of Heaven in us and among us, that we further His kingdom on this earth by living under His good Lordship and providing a good advertisement for the Christian faith (Titus 2:10)!

The message we preach isn’t, “Well, life’s terrible. But here, clutch onto this heaven ticket and someday we’ll fly away to glory.” 

Heaven is going to be glorious, but let’s not wait ’til then to taste of it! Let’s bring tiny tastes of heaven here to earth by praying, “Let your kingdom come and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Let’s live now with such love, and joy, and compassion, and generosity and supernatural power and wisdom that we give those around us a TASTE of what’s to come!

We’re like waiters, handing out tiny appetizers, whetting people’s appetites for the Wedding Feast. Our lives should help make people hungry for God.

Our hunger for God will increase others’ hunger for God.

I recently heard someone say, of another person,

“I always come away from (time with her) full of the Word and anxious to get on with His work.”

Yes! We want people to leave our presence with 2 things: 1) Full of His Word! His Word is life! It is our daily bread. It is what sustains us and gives us life! and 2) Eager to get on with His work. Yes! That we’d have an increased hunger to be about His business, that of giving those around us a taste of His goodness, power, and glory.

We do this through growing in supernatural wisdom. Let’s ask Him today for increased hunger:

Father, save us from our apathy. Save us from thinking you are a concept to be mastered or a doctrine to perfect. Father, help us hunger and thirst for righteousness. Show us where we’ve strayed, and settled for less than your supernatural wisdom and power in our lives. Help us live in this world in such a way that You are displayed and glorified, and all those around us get a taste of heaven. For Your glory! Amen. 

{Happy Monday. Thanks for reading.}