Wild Appetite

"A worker's appetite works for him, for his hunger urges him on."

-Proverbs 16:26

Hunger in its entirety is truly unbearable.  It's an invisible force that eats away at a person so deeply that they find themselves unable to function.  It's urgent, wild, hopeless, aching, and deadly if not filled.

You may think you understand hunger but our temporary roller coaster rides of growling tummies and quick-fixes have watered down the true and perfect desperation we need to find when it comes to the things of God.  Pudding and pretzels will never translate our spirit’s appetite.  The rumbling of a spirit is a quake that cannot be ignored.  It can never be quenched with snacky devotionals, sing-a-longs or pictures of someone else’s smorgasbord… those excuses of sustenance still leave you malnourished.  The Bible is described in Matthew 4:4 as bread for our spirits.  We can’t find that in the fast food lane as we run out the door to begin our busy days.  Jesus Himself was wildly hungry saying “my food is to do the will of my Father who sent Me”!

Sometimes you don't know how hungry you are for the supernatural and adventurous kingdom of God until you take your first bite.  Reading about the wonders in Acts and the pursuit of the apostles is astounding, but when you begin writing your own pages based upon the events of your day, you obtain an appetite that exceeds any amount of desire you've ever felt.  This appetite, in turn, makes you an addict of seeing people pray the prayer of salvation, being delivered from demons, beginning to walk in new lives and receive Holy Spirit.

A wild appetite settled securely in the hand of God has no limits.

How do you know when your life and your spirit are yearning for more?  How can you tell when your insides are trying to run out of your skin for an adventure? Hunger is a natural and invisible anticipation that pulsates so vividly within your veins, making it hard to think.  When you can’t give justice to the screaming adjectives that are blurrily muttered in tangled chaos while you sit alone praying in your room, you’re hungry.  When you feel fidgety even in the midst of success and opportunity, you’re really just hungry.  God has created you with this burning desire for thrill and the adventurous journey that comes along.  Will you let that desire be satisfied?

My hungry hero friend Sarah!

Hungry appetites usher in the kind of anticipation that steals away one’s oxygen just before Jack pops out of his box, the anticipation of an expected phone call just before your adrenalin launches you into the air at the sound of ringing.  It’s like the burst of a balloon or the terrible sensation of slamming on brakes.  It’s overwhelming and all consuming. 

Hunger can strike at any age, any location.  It strikes within transition periods between one season and the next, when you least expect it and when you’ve been waiting for it with opened arms.  It calls to you with screaming whispers saying, “Is this all there is to life?  God, there has to be more!” Short bites of God’s presence will begin to make you sick, squirmy, unhappy and uncomfortable because your spirit man is crying out for intimacy, your heart is longing for the deep-end of His Kingdom. 

I believe this hunger hits all of us at one point in our lives, whether we learn to recognize and respond to it or not.  God is a God of greatness and adventure and we are made in His image.

When it does hit you, you will automatically begin a search for fulfillment.  God brings true satisfaction but beware of the fast-pass billboards along the way. 

The sum of life is meant to go beyond the status quo of white picket fences and degrees.  America especially has a trend of making everything about self-promotion and self-reliance.  Nonetheless, true beauty and fulfillment comes not when you are looking into the eyes of your mirror but when you are looking into the eyes of the nations, the faces of the world.

It’s wonderful to pursue dreams and diverse successes but there is something really special about the pursuit of giving yourself away, pouring the substance of your existence into others.  It’s simple.   After all, this was the very core of Jesus’ life on earth.  Spreading His gospel to the unreached world will fill even the deepest and most agonizing cravings you may encounter.  Eating is simple yet profound.

Hunger brings expectancy for greatness, urgency for excellence.  It screams for salvation, signs, wonders, miracles and revival.  Hunger is lustful, raw, unthinkable.  It is the Kingdom of Heaven bottled up inside of you, shaken and near the point of explosion!