Blessedarethey which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
Matthew 5:6
I sat on the deserted beach
watching the Gulf's waters rise and fall.
Hearing them pound the shore.
There was in my spirit a longing.
A craving.
An intense, deep hunger....
to find my Creator.
To talk with Him.
To hear His voice.
To sense His presence.
So jaded was life.
So tired was I....
of the chaos that surrounded my existence.
I searched for peace.
I longed for inward rest...
that would sustain me..
and not leave in the days to come.
I sat on the rock...
alone...
wind sweeping long hair,
drying quickly-falling tears...
almost as quickly as they fell.
How I longed to just fly away...
on its wings...
through the turbulent, stormy skies...
and be at rest.
I turned my face upward...
closed my eyes....
spoke with my heart.
My mouth didn't move.
Just my soul.
He heard....
sensed my hunger....
for Him.
He nourished my soul.
Dried my tears.
Brought calm.
I watched the sun set,
then disappear,
and melt into the waves.
I hesitantly climbed down from the rock,
wishing things were different, but knowing I was.
I was filled with His presence.
So, I could go on.
Since then,
God has led to greener pastures.
One thing has not changed.
I am still hungry.
As I prayed this morning,
I told God so.
I hunger for Him...every, single day.
In calm or chaos,
grief or joy.
Whatever the external.
My heart craves...
longs for...
seeks after....
God.
He fills me to the point of overflowing.
To the point of feeling I will never hunger for Him again.
But every day, the hunger is fresh.
Like I've never been filled before.
I need God.
I crave His presence.
When I feel separated from Him,
due to the stuff of life,
I sense a strong, inward tug...
to find a place alone.
Remember the children of Israel?
Their journeys,
trials, tribulations, and circumstances....
all recorded as natural types and shadows
of the spiritual lives you and I now live.
We can learn so much from them.
The 78th chapter of Psalms paints a vivid portrait
and gives their story in a nutshell.
At one point, they were wandering in the wilderness.
They were hungry, physically,
doubting God,
not believing He could feed them there...
surrounded by such desolation.
The foolishness of their doubtful words found in the 19th verse?
"Yea, they spake against God;
they said, ‘Can God furnish a table in the wilderness?’"
I call their words foolish because they knew what God could do.
He had already miraculously parted the Red Sea...
caused the waters to stand in a heap on both sides...
dried the muddy ground in the middle...
right in front of their very eyes...
and kept it dry until the last one
of their doubtful feet crossed over to the other side.
He had caused water to gush from a rock,
when they were thirsty.
He had rained down manna from Heaven,
when they were hungry.
How could they doubt what God could do?
Perhaps, due to circumstances beyond your control,
you are surrounded by spiritual desolation.
Wilderness.
Where no sustenance grows.
Can God feed you there?
Can He furnish a table?
Right there....in such dry conditions?
Yes, my friend!
He is the Creator, remember?
He made the world...
out of nothing.
To furnish a table,
with all the trimmings,
overladen with spiritually-charged nutrition,
is an easy task for God.
Even in the most desolate wastelands of your life.
You don't have to be seated in a pew
or in the midst of the sanctimonious.
On a beach,
in a church building,
in your living room,
in the car,
at the foot of a mountain,
on your knees,
flat on your back,
in the woods,
at the stump of a tree,
seated on a fallen log,
surrounded by unbelievers,
in the midst of persecution...
wherever you are.
He will come down...
right there...
whereyouare,
and He will furnish a table...
just for you.
It will contain an "all-you-can-eat" buffet.
Each time you go back,
you will find a fresh supply...
of goodness,
and everything you crave.
His creativity is endless.
He is the Creator.
He never runs out of ideas…
on how to feed your soul...
as long as you are hungry.
His table is spread.
He waits for you.
Just take His hand....
and follow Him...
to the table.
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Cheryl Smith is eternally-grateful wife to Kevin and homeschool Mama to Zachary. Daily walks with God, conversations with the Potter, peaceful married life, the beautiful way God still opens barren wombs and sets the solitary in families, homeschooling, aging parents, grief, family ties, & the endless joys of being in the center of God's perfect, abiding will...these things she lives and breathes and knows. These things she writes from her heart at Homespun Devotions at www.cherylsmithministries.blogspot.com.
photo credit: Paulo Brandão via photopincc