Do I really want this?

You're blessed when you've worked up a good appetite for God. He's food and drink in the best meal you'll ever eat.  (Matthew 5:6) There are various types of hunger and desire. We have "appetites" for different things at different times in our day. We don't necessarily want a bag of M&Ms for breakfast, but by our two-o'clock slump we might fancy them - then again, I have been known to down one for breakfast! There are times we eat just because the clock says it is time to eat, or the opportunity is before us. There are other times when we work so intently, caught up in the task at hand, only breaking to find nourishment when we finally realize an intense sense of hunger and fatigue in our bodies. There is appetite and hunger - both pretty similar in meaning. APPETITE: An inherent craving. A preference. A taste for something. That which we strive after. HUNGER: A craving, or urgent need, for that which will satisfy. A longing.

Then there is this little idea of a craving. CRAVING: Something that you earnestly desire. That which we yearn for. A strong inward desire. DESIRE: A longing or hope. A conscious impulse toward something that promises enjoyment or satisfaction once attained. All these words have something in common - the urgency of attaining that which will satisfy. They focus on what it is that we desire - what we believe will provide us with a sense of reward or satisfaction. We all know that we can be "hungry" for all the wrong things. We also know that changing our mindset (and our "heart-set") to desire things that are good for us is a little more difficult at times. There are several things that we need to ask God to give us a true "desire" for in our lives if we are to grow up into well-rounded believers - but we need to be open to having those desires met by him, as well.

Discipline - we need to begin by asking for the desire to have our lives trained in such a way that we see correction of negative behavior and attitudes as something we need rather than something we dread. We need the "mold" to be changed - and to be truthful here, this only comes through discipline. Along with discipline, we need to be equipped. Equipping - we need to learn how to find our own nourishment from God's Word instead of always having to be fed from the hands of another. This is really the desire to be pursue both God's provisions and his promises - in order that we would be "fit" for service and action. It is fine to be fed, but when we do a little toward the preparation of what it is we partake in, we sometimes value it a little more.

We all want to realize a place of satisfaction in our lives, but we seldom realize that the greatest satisfaction is found in the place of our lives being sanctified (made holy) by our God. As we desire to grow in the grace of God, truly being set apart as an example of his grace, we develop an intense longing to be free of the sin that clutters our lives. We all probably want a sense of closeness with our Savior. This desire is really for "contact" with our Lord - there is a need to know him, but also to be known by him. With this desire for contact comes this idea of renewal or refreshing. Contact with our Savior makes for an open pathway that leads into places where we are deeply touched and constantly renewed. We all need times of inner renewal or a refreshing of our spirit man. There is a desire to be vitally connected with God - so that we are renewed (made fresh) each day.

Enlightenment - we all want to "be in the know" as it comes to the things God is doing and showing us. With illumination comes exposure - this is the rub. We want to know much more than we are willing to expose ourselves - we need to have this desire expanded in our lives if we are to really have our 'appetite' for the things of God expanded and fully met. We may not know the true value of our hunger until we experience the results of having that hunger truly satisfied. I know from personal experience, I can eat and eat in the physical sense, all the while just not having whatever it was that I was really craving truly satisfied. The problem is that I have failed to recognize the specific craving - it was probably not really for chocolate, but for an apple! We need God to begin to show us what it is that we really are craving in our lives and then begin to trust him to meet those cravings out of the storehouse of his love and goodness. Where the cravings aren't going to satisfy, he will help us to change them to the ones that will! Just sayin!