Hunger and Thirst.

Have you ever been really hungry or thirsty? I’m not talking about a meeting ran a little long and you’re late for lunch hungry. I’m talking about the kind where you’re weak in the knees and have the shakes kind of hungry. Or where your tongue is stuck to the roof of your mouth and you have a splitting headache from dehydration. The type of hunger and thirst that pushes everything else aside. Last month the Oxford English Dictionary added ‘Hangry’ as a newly recognized word. Here is their definition –

"Bad-tempered or irritable as a result of hunger."

You know who you are! Hunger and thirst will cause you to do things that you normally wouldn’t do. Often when we are starved (overly hungry due to excessive need in some area of our life) it makes us prone to temptation. It’s no wonder that the enemy tempted Jesus after He had fasted for 40 days and nights. This is one of the reasons that fasting is such a powerful experience for believers because it reveals and redirects what’s driving you.

• Esau sold his birthright for a stinking bowl of stew (Genesis 25).
• The Israelites complained against Moses and God in the wilderness REPEATEDLY (Exodus 16, 17, Numbers 11, 20, 21).

 We often think of hunger and thirst as a negative thing resulting from a place of great need. But it can be a great motivating factor in our lives. Maybe a different way to think about it is a craving or strong desire - I’m not hungry right now but I sure could destroy a piece of cheesecake!

“The appetite of laborers works for them; their hunger drives them on.” – Proverbs 16:26 NIV

There are people at my gym that are hungry. They are there every day and show up early, they work up a sweat before class even starts and they stay after to run an extra mile before they leave. They’re the ones making the big gains – losing weight, adding muscle, hitting new personal records each week. They want more. The people who show up a couple times a week, 5 minutes late and exercise their jaws during the warmup – not so much. But we have to want the right things in order to get the right results.

“Blessed [joyful, nourished by God’s goodness] are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness [those who actively seek right standing with God], for they will be [completely] satisfied.” – Matthew 5:6 AMP

Just like when God satisfied the Israelites with water from the rock and manna from heaven He is looking to fill His children who are hungry and thirsty today. The question is do YOU want more?