It is said that a hungry man is an angry man. A truly hungry man is a desperate man. Hunger has a way of making you do things you normally wouldn’t. It has a way of making you eat anything you find your hands on. Hunger is a strong desire for food but it can be used to refer to a strong desire for anythingor an unfulfilled desire. Hunger is the urge that spurs us on to hunt for something. In the book of Genesis, when there was a famine in the land of Canaan, hunger moved Jacob to send his sons for food in Egypt. His sons went and found trouble. They were reluctant to return but hunger had the last word. Hunger prevailed over the possibility of the loss of a beloved son (Genesis 42-43). The depth of your hunger will determine the extent of your hunt and your pursuit. The depth of your hunger will tell in your actions.

In our walk towards the King’s chamber, I want us to take a deeper look at hunger:

Many times, we believe that our hunger for God is self-generated. Therefore, we tend to regard people who do not seem to have any hunger for God as ‘unspiritual’. I will make a clear point here: your hunger is only a response to the invitation of God. Without an invitation to deeper levels, you cannot generate a spiritual hunger on your own.

“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.” John 6:44 NKJV‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

Hunger is not an initial action. It is a reaction. Therefore, do not pride yourself on the presence of hunger. Instead, consider it a privilege to be given access into deeper things in God. 

THE RESPONSE OF HUNGER

The depth of your hunger will determine extent of your hunt and your pursuit.

John was a hungry man. We catch a glimpse of his hunger in the first chapter of his gospel. According to Christian tradition, John was one of the disciples John the Baptistpointed Jesus out to as the Messiah (John 1: 35-36). Upon hearing this, he left the most popular prophet at the time to follow an unknown man. I’m sure John was hungry for something more substantial than what he had been experiencing in his daily life. It might have been why he had begun to follow John the Baptist, the latest and most powerful prophet in his time. Then when John points to someone else as greater and having more of God, he leaves with Andrew and pursues Him.

“The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, “What do you seek?” They said to Him, “Rabbi” (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), “where are You staying?” He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him that day (now it was about the tenth hour).” ‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬John 1:37-39 NKJV

When you consider the actions of John and Andrew, you realize that it was not mere curiosity. There was an authentic desire that had to be filled that drove these men to follow a stranger to an unknown place and spend the night. 

It was this same John who followed Jesus and Peter when Jesus called, not him but Peter, to follow Him. 

“Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also had leaned on His breast at the supper, and said, “Lord, who is the one who betrays You?”” John 21:20

Jesus probably knew that John would follow regardless and so there was no point calling him. There was a desire that had been stirred up in John’s heart even before Jesus came onto the scene. His hunger always positioned him in the place of intimacy and sharing secrets with the Lord. He was one of the first to spend time with Jesus (John 1: 37-39), only John who knew Judas was the one going to betray Jesus (John 13: 25-30; 21:20). John was entrusted with the care of Mary, the mother of Jesus, at the crucifixion (John 19:26). It looks like the revelations of John began long before he was exiled to Patmos. HUNGER! No wonder, he kept being invited deeper into the secrets of Christ. And he kept accepting the offer! The man was never satisfied.

HUNGER!

The depth of your hunger will tell in your actions.

You who declares to love the Lord and are hungry for Him, what do you do to show your hunger? If the Lord walked by you today and you were with the best and greatest, would you leave the best and the greatest to follow Him? Would you stay locked up in the room with Him in communion or go hang out with your folks? Would you rise up from your warm and most comfortable bed in the dead of the night and call upon Him? If He invited you into His bedchamber, would you be willing to spend time in intimate knowledge of Him?

May God help us! May He grant us the grace to look away from our families and livelihoods and societal regard and answer His invitation.

HUNGER!