I am a singer, songwriter, wife, mother, Jesus follower. I send out a 2-minute read every Tuesday about Jesus and life in God.
Hunger Pains
Dear Friends,
At the end of the book of Revelation, we reach the triumphant climax of human history. Suffering is obliterated, beauty invades all the earth, and God dwells among us forever.
Every happy ending ever written can’t hold a candle to the great story He is writing.
However, the last few lines of the Bible bring us back to the precipice on which we teeter for these 80 years. The “not yet”, and our longing for Him to come.
Below, in bold, is a chorus I’ve sung about this, and below that are a few thoughts.
Blessed hunger work in me
A deepening capacity
Make Him room let the Spirit come
And teach my heart His ancient song
Blessed thirst come divide
My heart from all this world provides
Spirit increase, all else die
And let His mourning song arise
The Holy Spirit has a song to impart to anyone who will make space to contain it. It’s a one word song. But it takes a lifetime to sing it.
Here is the lyric:
Come!
Every human heart that receives Christ as King is left with the unsatisfying truth that while we live, and until He returns, Jesus is in heaven and we are on earth. We therefore have a lifetime to live in hunger.
Because we love Him.
Hunger is an unsettled state, a driving force, an instigator. When you’re gripped with it, you’ll do anything it takes to mitigate the emptiness.
Hunger wants nothing more than to be filled.
The world offers unending options for dulling the ache in our hearts for Jesus. Even beautiful gifts from God—food, clothing, entertainment—when turned to in excess can work to dull our longing for Jesus.
Again, these things are gifts from God meant to be enjoyed. But the moment we indulge in the gifts in a way that make us lose sight of the Giver, we need the help of the Holy Spirit to remember our Beloved One.
We need the gift of hunger.
Those gnawing hunger pains: they eat at materialism, dissolving self-interest and the cares of this life.
Yes, hunger makes a space. It preserves the first place in our lives for Him alone. It refuses satisfaction till the true fulfillment of being with Him forever comes at last.
This longing can be filled by Him alone. All else falls short.
And so, the Spirit ever reminds us of the lyrics of His song again and again, and our lives resound with the song.
Come Lord Jesus, come!
–Anna
Anna Blanc
I am a singer, songwriter, wife, mother, Jesus follower. I send out a 2-minute read every Tuesday about Jesus and life in God.
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