Have you ever been hungry? I’m not talking about getting hangry because you’re 30 minutes past your normal lunchtime. I mean the kind of hungry that drives you so that you are willing to go to extreme lengths to get something to eat because if you don’t, you could literally die. Most of us have never experienced that kind of hunger for food, thank You Jesus, but we all have had various appetites that have driven us: money, sex, approval and affirmation, alcohol, etc.
In 2 Kings 7, there were four lepers that were about to starve to death. Because of their condition, they were not allowed around the general population, and to violate this law could mean execution. They got so hungry that they didn’t care. They figured that maybe the crowd would have mercy on them and give them something to eat, and if not, at least a swift death is better than a slow painful one.
We are all spiritual lepers. We have become spiritually numb because of our sin. We need the Bread of Life and the Fountain of Living Water or else we will perish spiritually, and eternally (Romans 6:23). God is looking for some desperate people (2 Chronicles 16:9) who are willing to go to extreme lengths in prayer and fasting to see transformation in their lives and in their sphere of influence.
We need the Holy Spirit to wake us up to our spiritual hunger. We then must cut out the junk food of the world: social media, ungodly entertainment, immorality, substance abuse, greed, etc. We will then begin to cultivate an appetite for God’s presence and for His glory.
Philippians 3:18-19 Many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame—who set their mind on earthly things.
God wants to move in our midst, the question is, “How hungry are we? How badly do we want to see His Kingdom come and will be done?” The problem is that most of us want a comfortable level of Jesus. We want salvation, forgiveness, and blessing but we also want to enjoy our pet sins and remain in the driver’s seat in our lives. It is like when God came down to Mt. Sinai the people said to Moses, “We don’t want to get too close or even to hear His word for ourselves. You tell us what He says and we will decide if we want to obey or not. Keep up the good preaching, I’ll see you next Sunday, but don’t ask me to get serious and intimate with the Lord and have Him disrupt the status quo in my life.”
Desperate times call for desperate measures, and the kingdom is given to those who are desperately seeking Him.
Matthew 11:12 From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.
Let us learn to love God and to love others, and to draw the sword of the spirit, cut off the access points of sin, storm the gates of hell, and see God move like never before. God feeds the hungry and obedient (James 4:6-7).
2 Corinthians 9:10 Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness.
Lord, I love You. Thank You for today. You are holy and glorious. Your power is beyond comprehension and Your love is stronger than the grave. I need You. I ask forgiveness for my sin. Help me to destroy the idols in my life and to stop feeding my worldly and fleshly appetites. I ask forgiveness for allowing my belly – my appetites, be the god that I serve. Heal me of my spiritual leprosy, and cause me to hunger and thirst for righteousness. Feed me with the Bread of Life and give me the water of Your word. Help me to want more of You and less of me. Help me to get violent with the sin in my life and to grow in the love of God. In Jesus name, amen.