Psalm 63:1 NLT
'O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water.'
I only go in search of what I really want. Too often, more pressing needs relegate my search for God to whatever spare time I can muster. Like reaching for the small change in my pocket for the homeless individual I pass, it is a non-priority and more a spontaneous reaction, often provoked by guilt. I believe that one reason Jesus fasted in the wilderness was that he might experience the power of human appetite and then direct that towards the bread of life rather than the baker’s provision. Forty days and nights represents extreme fasting, but if this is the degree to which Jesus wanted to awaken his hunger for God, I’d best pay attention.
As a new Christian convert, I loved serving God. Later I became an executive in a large mission as well as a church leader. This was long before my whole being longed for God. As this ‘God-ache’ grew, it took time to learn how to yearn for and cultivate God and his presence. Now, after a number of years, I am comfortable with earnestly searching for God. I have developed my own daily rhythms. These have emerged only as I have let go of conflicting demands upon my time and my attention.
Today I find much of life starved of meaning. It is a vacuum, whose activities offer little inspiration. I’m equally weary of life’s multitude of meaningless distractions. It sounds like I’ve grown tired of life. Quite the reverse! I have fallen in love and am daily discovering a richness and pleasure in the fullness of the life Jesus promised (John 10:10). I tend to fast two meals a day, twice a week. This is to remind my body that I do not live either by or for bread alone. What I thought was life, I now see as many thieves seeking to take from me my redeemed inheritance in every moment of every day.
QUESTION: How hungry are you for God?
PRAYER: May I have a healthy appetite to search for God today.

Released on 16 Mar 2020