Matthew 5:6
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
In a recent gathering someone asked, “Where does hunger and thirst come from?” Superb question! They wanted to know if God gave it as a gift to some and perhaps withheld it from others. Even though I couldn’t direct them to a book in the Bible called Hunger and Thirst, I could direct them to the Psalms. One Christian voice I monitor says, “When I am astray within and the way seems obscure, I go into the Psalms and I read until I find my voice.” The Psalms model hunger and thirst for God in their expressions of transparency and passion.
Among all the ways the scriptures inspire us I believe they have certainly been given to provoke our hunger and thirst. However, If we approach scripture as academics who must subject each verse to bible study vivisection we may miss the benefit that comes from the scalpel’s work on our own hearts. It is easy to think that scholarship (either mine or some one else’s) is the pathway to relational intimacy with God. While it prevails today, the idea that bible study is the key to an abiding and abundant life would have been utterly foreign to the first disciples. While inductive thought is important and will aid in our grasp of the letter of God’s Word, it will fall short, in itself, in revealing the Spirit of the Word. The Spirit of the Word can only be tasted in our personal experience with God.
However, if we look at the narrative of scripture and see it is not only a history book or a manuel for missions but first and foremost a reference point of how we can relate to God, our hunger and thirst can be stirred. In other words, if we can grasp that its not just about others and their glory in a by-gone age, rather its an invitation to us into a living breathing encounter with God with a now-glory all its own, then the fires of our own hunger and thirst can be stoked.
The stories that resonate with me, the reports that have the most authentic ring to them are those where people have responded to their questions and their pain by opening themselves up to God and to others. The act of becoming vulnerable is an expression of humility which God is responsive to. The story line is predictable. In their perseverance, these people invariably taste and see for themselves just how good God is and they begin entrusting more and more of themselves to Him. Because He loves their faith and rewards them when they seek Him, God entrusts their hearts with increasing measures of Himself. Because of God’s infinite personality, the inevitable outcome for any heart that will take honest and humble steps toward God will be increased hunger and thirst.
Because it often appears (at least in the natural) that the burden of relating to God is on us, I may not be able to satisfy my friend’s question regarding the origins of hunger and thirst. But, I can say that God is the giver of all good gifts. I am also reminded that no man comes to the Father unless he is drawn. So, I think we are mistaken if we credit man as the initiator of any relationship with God. I have always been influenced by the doctrine of “prevenient grace” which says in essence, that before there was anything (including a response from man), there was God, the primal spark. In light of prevenient grace, we must always ask, “What are the current and provocative circumstances in my life that God is endeavoring to use in order to draw me to Himself and nurture my hunger and thirst?
To my friend who has asked the insightful questions, I believe that the Author-Spirit of these psalms says, “Come and lay bare your broken heart. Say what’s on your mind. Be yourself. I know it all anyway. It will do us both good for you to tell me your deepest disappointments; ask Me your deepest questions; tell Me your deepest hurts and make the requests that are on your heart. From here I can best address those matters you cannot even see which generate your turmoil. Do this and watch your hunger and thirst grow. Watch our relationship blossom.”
Father, while Your ways are higher than our ways, and we cannot know all that we might like, we can rest in the good news that You have things covered. Thank you that redemption is buried deep into the DNA of creation and therefore into life’s circumstances. One thing we are compelled to seek, that we might continually dwell in Your house, that we might meditate in Your Word and behold the beauty of Your presence. Grant that we might become those whom You seek, who worship you in spirit and in truth. Amen.