Hunger for God july 2015 Devotional
Hunger for God JuLY 2015 Devotional We never needed anyone to teach us to be physically hungry. Babies come out of the womb hungry. If a baby does not seem to almost immediately want to eat doctors know something is very wrong. Even as adults, a lack of hunger and appetite is often a symptom of some sort of sickness. For both those who have been malnourished and those who have over indulged in their eating, it is quite a difficult process to develop an appropriate appetite and hunger. As adults we can train ourselves to not physically hunger. We train ourselves that something else is more important. We may want to eat lunch, but work through lunch because a project is more urgent or important than our desire to eat. We may really want that cookie sundae, but abstain from eating it because we know we want to look a certain way for an upcoming event. These truths also apply spiritually. Scripture says God made us to know Him. Simply because God made us for the purpose of knowing Him, He designed us to be spiritually hungry. You were created to hunger for God. A lack of hunger for God is a sign of sickness in our hearts. This lack of hunger is not by accident, but rather something we train in ourselves. We instinctively know hungering for God is important, but we choose to fulfill other desires because they appear more urgent, necessary or beneficial. Whether we are spiritually malnourished, overindulging in the wrong things, or spiritually sick somehow, developing a right hunger for God and appetite for the things of His Kingdom takes a humble and intentional effort. The good news is God promises when we hunger and thirst for Him and His righteousness we will be filled (Matthew 5:6)! Finding fulfillment in God will produce a greater depth of satisfaction than you ve ever known. We pray this devotional, through the enlightening and empowering of God s Holy Spirit, will help you further develop your hunger for God. PURPOSE OF THE DEVOTIONAL We have provided a daily devotional for the purpose of inspiration and greater unity during these days of consecration. Each devotional will include a section called READ with key scriptures for study and memorization. A second section of the devotional called REFLECT will provide a brief study as the heart of the devotional. Finally, we will conclude each day with a section called RESPOND, which will assist you in applying the revelation gained from the READ and REFLECT portions. INFORMATION ON FASTING Visit bethelworld.org and the January 2015 devotional for information on the purposes of fasting, helpful tips while fasting, and appropriate things to do and not do during a time of fasting. BETHEL PRAYER SCHEDULE Monday: Prayer at 6am and Noon in the sanctuary (Fasting optional) Tuesday: Prayer at 6am and Noon in the sanctuary (Fasting optional) Wednesday: Monthly Church-wide Day of Prayer and Fasting (Prayer at 6am and Noon in the sanctuary 7pm Service)
MONDAY June 29 TH Feeding Frenzy read Proverbs 27:7 Isaiah 55:1-3 Luke 6:25 Luke 1:53 James 1:13-15 Revelation 3:17-19 reflect Have you ever really craved a certain food and after finally eating it still felt unsatisfied? Most of us have. This is a great picture of how spiritual hunger works as well. To say someone has no spiritual hunger may be partially accurate, but not completely. A truer statement would be that an individual is fully spiritually hungry, just for some of the wrong things. The truth is we all have voracious appetites. Are your desires leading you closer to the heart of God or further away? According to James 1:13-15, our desires and appetites determine our actions. Developing a deeper hunger for God starts with recognizing the desires for which you are seeking fulfillment not found in God Himself. Any craving or desire in which you find fulfillment outside of God and what He provides will lead you into sin and away from His heart. As such, a lack of hunger is not our real problem. Our problem lies in our appetites being sufficed by things other than God. This leads to never finding true satisfaction and insatiable worldly appetites, as in the beginning example. May we recognize and repent of our ungodly desires in which we seek shallow satisfaction and develop a right hunger for God. REFLECT What things do you find yourself feeding on other than God? (work, relationships, social media, hobbies, etc) What desires are you pursuing that lead you away from God s heart? What desires are you pursuing that lead you towards God s heart? What is God speaking to you through today s devotional? respond Ask the Lord to reveal the things filling your natural hunger that prevent you from hungering more fully for God. Repent of ungodly hunger and pursuing things that don t truly satisfy. Ask God to help you pursue things that are pleasing to Him and will develop a right, Godly hunger.
Tuesday June 30 TH Changing Your Appetite read Psalm 37:4 Acts 3:19 Romans 12:1-2 Philippians 2:13 Philippians 4:13 reflect Research on diets is quite astounding. Food diets remarkably prove to not only be ineffective at producing a true change in appetite, but a vast number of times end up leaving the person worse off than they started. Nutritionists will tell you diets do not work because quick, easy fixes do not work. In order to actually change your physical eating habits you need a change in lifestyle. In order to change your mental, emotional and spiritual eating habits you need a change of heart, and subsequently a change in lifestyle. God is the only one who can change a heart. That change of heart comes as God s grace meets our humility and repentance. As we acknowledge and repent of feeding on things other than God and His Word the Holy Spirit does a work in our hearts. Once again God s grace far surpasses what we deserve and He begins to work in us the desire and power to hunger for Him (Philippians 2:13). Psalm 37:4 says as we delight ourselves in the Lord He gives us the desires of our heart. This does not mean just hang out with God for a bit so you can get what you want from Him. Rather, it communicates that as we feed on and delight in Him, He becomes what we really want. If all you eat is sugar and fried food, you ll crave sugar and fried food while a plate of vegetables sounds quite unpleasant. However, if you regularly eat a healthy diet, a plate of all fried food will make you painfully ill. As you feed more and more on the Lord, watch as He becomes what you really want. REFLECT What desires lead you to pursue things that don t truly satisfy? (approval, affection, accolades, success, escaping reality, etc) What does it look like for you to humble yourself and repent of ungodly desires? What can you do to delight yourself in the Lord and practically pursue Godly desires? What is God speaking to you through today s devotional? respond Repent of the ungodly desires that lead you to pursue satisfaction outside of God. Ask the Lord to change your desires to seeking fulfillment only in Him. Thank the Lord for His grace and power to do what pleases Him.
Wednesday JuLy 1 ST A Satisfied Hunger read Psalm 34:8 Psalm 107:9 Jeremiah 29:12-13 Matthew 5:6 Matthew 6:33 John 6:26-35, 47-51, 53-58 James 4:8 reflect What a magnificent invitation that God invites us to taste and see He is truly good. However, God does not stop there. He goes on to promise us that as we hunger and thirst for Him and His Kingdom we will be filled. God promises repeatedly throughout scripture that as we seek Him and draw near to Him we will find Him. Hungering for God starts with humbly acknowledging we are feeding our souls on things other than God Himself. Humility is followed by repentance and asking the Lord to help us hunger for Him. As we continue the process of turning away from our earthly appetites to Heavenly ones and pursue God, we find Him. The things of this life claim to offer affirmation, affection, accomplishment, accolades, a sense of success and belonging. However, as we pursue those earthly desires we find they actually only provide empty and broken promises. As we discussed the first day, we were made to hunger for God. Since our appetites were designed by God, for God, only He can satisfy. And, the best part of all is that when we align our lives with the hunger God created in us and seek His Kingdom and His righteousness we will be filled and God will take care of everything else. Now that s a satisfied life. REFLECT When have you tasted God s goodness in the past? How have you seen God fill you when you hunger for Him? How have you seen the things of this life only afford empty and broken promises? How can you see God made you to hunger for Him and Him alone? What is God speaking to you through today s devotional? respond Write out times you ve tasted and seen God s goodness as you ve hungered for Him. Remember how God has satisfied and filled you in the past. Ask the Lord to help your hunger for Him grows as you forsake earthly appetites.