Have you ever experienced a deep hunger to know God in all of His love, power, and righteousness? You can cultivate your hunger for God. God moves by the principle of hunger. Did your mother tell you not to eat before dinner because it would spoil your appetite? If you feed on the things of this present culture, you can lose your hunger for God’s Word. But as you focus on the Lord and hunger for His presence, your desires for the world will dissipate (see Matthew 5:6).
Your hunger for God is also an opportunity for Him to write His Word on your heart (see Jeremiah 31:33). It is the way to “be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2).[i] The foundation of your walk with God must be this hunger to have a relationship with Him. Aggressively focus your faith on Him by rehearsing the promises of God in the Bible and making them your own. Let His Word wash over you in a deep cleansing to your heart. Yeshua taught us, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” (Matthew 5:6). Your hunger to know Christ opens the door of the Father’s heart of compassion to you. Allow it to saturate your whole being, in a personal relationship with the Father.
Your hunger for God is measured by the size of the things that defeat and discourage you. In times of trial and difficulty, you can determine to keep your focus on God and eliminate the things that block you from experiencing His presence. If you want a meeting with God, focus your hunger on Him as you seek Him with all your heart. It opens a realm of maturity and living works for you and allows you to “contend earnestly for the faith” (Jude 1:3).
Many times the Father allows you to live in circumstances where He is the only way out. When Yeshua was tested in the wilderness, He declared to the adversary, “It is written, ‘MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD’” (Matthew 4:4). You, too, can hunger for the Bread of Life (which is Yeshua Himself) to strengthen you to do the Father’s will. With persistence, you will not be denied. When you hunger for Yeshua, He can then provide all you need.
This hunger triggers an unveiling of the Father’s heart that has been stolen from you (and all humanity) through satan’s lying illusion that God does not love you. Believe for the Father’s love to set you free. Trust that He cares about every detail of your life. Rest in His love. Let the Father anoint you with His healing salve of joy and break every chain that has bound you.
It is Yeshua’s heart to meet with you personally. Each day as He comes into your time and space, He is driven to impart Himself to you. As you exercise your hunger toward Him, it will increase your appetite for more. Hunger is a cry for the Father to complete what He has started in your life and fulfill His destiny in you.
[i] All Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible 1995 (NASB95).