Hunger for God

In his book, A Hunger for God, John Piper begins the last paragraph with the startling claim: "Our hunger for God is too small. This is true not only because our capacities to desire are atrophied—like a muscle that lifts only feathers—but also because our capacity to see the Desirable is untrained on the telescope of God’s Word." He then asks the question, "On what do we exercise the muscle of desire?" and immediately answers it: "We are meant to desire the Great with great desire" - as per Psalm 42:1-2; Psalm 63:1; Philippians 3:8 - before concluding, "But we flex our desires for small things rather than for God. And so the very potential for desire diminishes."

The last two sentences are quite the indictment. Have we really flexed our desire for small things rather than for God? A deeper question could also be, "As believers, what do we desire the most?" The Psalmist left no doubt as to extent and object of his desire when he cried out, "As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for Thee, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God" (Psalm 42:1,2). In other words, just as the thirsty, dry-throated, lips-parched, panting animal desires or yearns for water to quench its thirst, in the same way my soul pants or desires you, O God. Without the desired resource, the deer stood a chance of dying. Without the One who is the Source of life, the believer is at risk of dying. Our greatest desire has to be, and must be, for Him.

Again we see the heart of the Psalmist as he writes elsewhere, "O God, Thou art my God; I shall seek Thee earnestly; my soul thirsts for Thee, my flesh yearns for Thee, in a dry and weary land where there is no water" (Psalm 63:1). This is a cry of desperation. Yet is there any other way to seek Him? To covet His favour for our ultimate good and seek His glory as our highest goal? It is instructive that he uses the word "earnestly" to describe his search. In this instance, desperation drove earnestness. The need was so great that he could not afford to miss what he was looking for; he had to be earnest in his search. As it was with the Psalmist, so it should be with us. Our hunger for God should be of such that it becomes our greatest priority.

How do we get to the place of desiring God above all else? Piper suggests, "If we do not see Him in His greatness, we will not desire Him in His fullness." It is only as we see Him and His glory through the lens of His Word that we fuel our desire, our hunger, for Him. The central goal of studying God’s Word is to know God better, and the better we know Him, the more we should desire Him. Like the apostle Paul our position should be, "I count all things [everything that I have accomplished] to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord" (Philippians 3:8a). Nothing else compares for "whom have I in heaven but Thee? And besides Thee, I desire nothing on earth" (Psalm 73:25).

"As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for Thee, O God." How strong is your hunger for God? Are you even hungry for Him?

Dealing With Doubt

Have you ever had to wrestle with doubt? Those times when you silently question the spiritual truths you believe? Times when you wonder if the Bible is true and God is loving, fair, and omnipotent, then why are things still so hard in your life and the lives of others around you? "Why am I still sick?" "Why am I still unemployed?"

While most Christians would consider it blasphemous to voice these thoughts, the reality is that some people struggle with these and similar questions in the privacy of their own minds. Some of these people are seated in the church pews every Sunday. In some ways they are like the man who brought his son, who had a "dumb spirit" whom Jesus' disciples could not cast out, but when the father stood before Jesus he asked of Him, "If thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us" (Mark 9:22b, KJV). The narrative continues, "Jesus said, 'If? There are no 'ifs' among believers. Anything can happen.' No sooner were the words out of His mouth than the father cried, 'Then I believe. Help me with my doubts!'" (vv. 23-24, The Message).

The fact that Jesus' disciples had failed caused the father to question Jesus' ability. However, Jesus turned the situation around by reminding the man that the issue was not His [God's] ability, but rather the lack of faith on the part of the one asking. In other words, with God all things are possible but do we have the faith to believe that? It is important to understand that belief is not a matter of mental assent or agreement, but rather a conviction in one's heart. Someone once said, "Until you believe the truth in your heart, all you have is information." Yes, God is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent; nothing is impossible with Him, but is that truth in our heads or has it taken root in our hearts?

What we believe in our hearts will manifest itself in our thoughts, actions, and attitudes. The next time you find yourself doubting and worrying, ask yourself what is it that you truly believe. God is not intimidated by shaky faith and He can handle doubts, for He knows our frame and remembers that we are dust (Psalm 103:14). We want to believe, we say we believe, but doubt saps the life out of our faith. However, God's abilities do not wane because we have trouble believing. He is who He say He is. Once we move that truth from our heads to our hearts, we have it on good authority that nothing in accordance with the will of God will be impossible to us. Still not sure? Just ask Jesus. You can trust whatever He tells you.

"Come and See"

In his book "The God Delusion," renowned atheist Richard Dawkins writes, "The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all of fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic [woman hater], homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilental, megalomaniacal [egotistical], sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully. Those of us schooled from infancy in his ways can become desensitized to their horror." Some Christians shudder at such a description of the God they believe and trust in, and that is exactly the point. For all the negativity he could muster in his assault on God and His character, Dawkins had not met God. He was describing someone he did not know.

There are many people who are like Dawkins. Without taking the time to know the One of whom they speak so authoritatively, they are content with their flawed and unproven characterizations. I am reminded of the conversation between Philip and Nathaniel as recorded in John chapter 1. According to the narrative, Philip found Nathaniel and said unto him, "We have found Him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?" (vv. 45-46, KJV). In this instance, Philip was thrilled at meeting Jesus. His excitement was of such that, to borrow the words of Matthew Henry, he said to Nathaniel with a sense of urgency, "We have found Him whom we have so often talked of, so long wished and waited for; at last, He is come, He is come, and we have found Him!” Yet, Nathaniel saw things differently. He was prepared to write off Jesus simply because of his own prejudice towards the city of Nazareth!

Philip's response was one for the ages. He did not seek to reason with Nathaniel; he simply said to him, "Come and see." In other words, "Do not take my word for it, come and see for yourself. Put aside your prejudice and listen to Him; examine what He says." Of Him John says not only is He the Word, not only was He in the beginning with God, but this same Word "was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth" (v.14).

That is the God we serve, and that is the God we need to show to the world. Not the misrepresentation that Dawkins and company would project, but the God who is "full of grace and truth." He is the one in whom we believe, the One who is precious (1 Peter 2:7). It is only as mankind come to know Him that we can know who He really is. We will not convince skeptics with our arguments. The best thing we can do is to invite them to "come and see." Once Philip met Jesus, he could not help himself. The words from his lips are recorded for all times: "Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel" (John 1:49).

If only Dawkins could take up Philip's invitation. Do you know anyone who needs to?

Redeeming the Time

For a while, I loved watching the introduction; the imagery and sounds of which come readily to mind over twenty years later. Still showing in some areas over 50 years after it first came to television screens, the title sequence of the popular soap opera "Days of our Lives" features an hourglass, with sand slowly trickling to the bottom against the backdrop of a partly cloudy sky. Along with it, the trademark voiceover: "Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives."

Hourglasses measure the passage of time, a few minutes or an hour, and were commonly used to measure sermons, cooking time, and so on. Today, scaled down models are in practical use as timers for cooking eggs, teaching children how long to brush their teeth, and timing board games, to name a few. When the sand runs out of one end, time is up. If necessary, the hourglass is then inverted to re-start the timing process.

My mind went back to the previously mentioned voiceover as I reflected on the words from Proverbs 14:1a, "Man that is born of a woman is of few days" (KJV). Science and common sense tell us that if we eat properly, get in our recommended exercise, and take care of ourselves as best in the other domain of our lives, we improve our chances of living longer. They are many who can testify to the usefulness of such advice. However, in some ways we are simply postponing the inevitable. At the core, there is a frailty and feebleness to our nature that tells us eventually the sand will run out.

Our individual hourglasses are not uniformed; some will have more time than others will. Nevertheless, it is not so much the amount of time (though that is important) as it is what we do with the time we have been given. Christians are not called to live wasted lives but lives of purpose. Paul reminds us, "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them" (KJV). We live purposeful lives when we walk in the purpose for which we were created. It is not enough to simply meet a need; it is important to walk in our purpose. Our reality is that we have only limited time in which to do so. For some of us the sand will run out while we are still trying to decide which steps to follow.

The challenge for us is to use our time wisely; to make the most of every opportunity. Let us purpose not to leave any God-given task undone. For like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives. Every day is important. Every minute counts.