desire for chuch stuff as opposed to hunger for God

My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning. (Psalm 130:6)

Today we pray for Central and South America (that the Lord will continue the revival that He has begun and that it will flow over into the rest of their region and the world).

The revivals that are springing up around the world are amazing. While in America, the church seems to be dying, in Central and South America, in Asia, in countries with horrible climates for Christianity, they are flourishing in great numbers.

The reason is desire. These places desire something better. America, on the other hand, has about all it needs and doesn’t feel the need for Jesus and his grace. They’ve got all the material possessions they need and are fine, thank you.

In the other places, poverty is the norm. there is no dependence on stuff, so they find God.

I wonder if in this economic downturn, we will find a resurgence in the need for God. As people lose what they have and find it was so transient in the first place, they may find the need for God even stronger.

Sometimes it is hard to see God for all the stuff. It blinds us to his power. When we feel we have power, we do not feel the need for his power. However, when we lose that temporal power, there is still that God-shaped vacuum in our hearts that we had learned not to notice.

When that new found desire becomes strong enough, we seek the only solution. And that only solution, the only thing of any lasting value or power, is God.

But he will not compete. He will not argue over who is most important in your life. You take him, he is glad and will do anything he can to help you and guide you. You decide not to take him and he will allow that too. He will not force you to be in his will.

In Central and South America and all the other places where the need for him is becoming apparent to people, they see that and accept him.

Of course, problems ensue. Most of those countries are antagonistic to Christianity. And they will do anything to stop it. But, as history has shown from day one of the church, the more they try to stop it, the more it grows.

Praise be to God and to his awesome power.

I have come two weeks into this fast and have lost 40 pounds. I didn’t lose this much this fast last time, but this time I was on the Atkins diet for a month before. That probably accelerated the process. My digestive system also reacted very negatively this time for the first time ever. That has been hard.

Yesterday I felt the faint gnawings of hunger. We went to the store yesterday and got a few things. One of my hobbies is recreational grocery shopping. I shop at grocery stores like I shop at thrift stores. I go in for nothing in particular, kind of look around, and if I find something I buy it.

The same with grocery stores. I have a route (being the obsessive/compulsive personality that I am) that I walk in each store. To the right, through the produce, past the meat counter, past the cheese and dairy products and then the bakery. Then I go down the center aisle and out. If I find nothing I want, I buy nothing. But it is amazing at the good deals you can find with frequent trips to the store and an openness to bargains and day-old meat.

But as I looked, it became apparent that I was hungry. Everything looked desirable, even the bologna. And I hate bologna.

As I said at first, desire is when you want a specific thing. Hunger is when you are hungry.

It is the same thing with God. People think they seek the Lord when they want good praise music, or jumping up and down preaching, or a good tongues dominated prayer service or nicely dressed people. When they don’t get it, they are angry and feel their hunger for God is not fulfilled.

That is not a hunger for God. That is a desire for stuff. It is spiritual materialism. They want the trappings of worship without the reality and body of worship. They are looking for spiritual pizza or ice cream or hamburgers or mashed potatoes with gravy.

Real hunger is when you just desire God and to worship him however you can. Real hunger is when you desire his presence more than you desire anything else.

Father God, I ask that you bless these in Central and South America. Give them strength in overcoming the opposition. Give them power in living for you. Give us here that same hunger. Give me that hunger for you, that desire for what I can give to you. I praise you. Amen.