What Is Spiritual Hunger and How To Stay Satisfied
Spiritual hunger doesn’t mean you scarf down Twinkies, guzzle syrupy sweet drinks, and consume food non-stop. If that’s what spiritual hunger meant, most believers would be all-star Christians.
However, there is something about that illustration I like—having passion. Any time our body needs nourishment, we stop at the first convenience store we see. When you’re hungry for more of God, you take steps to fill up your spirit because you’re passionate about your relationship with Him.
What Is Spiritual Hunger?
Have you panted lately? That’s how the Bible describes spiritual hunger and thirst.
Psalm 42:1-2
As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God,
for the living God.
What are the signs of spiritual hunger? You make a beeline for your prayer closet, Bible, and private sanctuary because God awaits. You step over magazines, craft projects, and anything that prevents you from letting God satisfy your soul (See my book, God on the Back Pew, about people seeking God).
Just as your stomach gnaws and growls for food, your spirit longs for God. He satisfies like nothing else. As your appetite for God increases, depending on stuff and small morsels of God’s presence no longer meet your growing demand for more of Him.
Ask yourself these questions to determine whether you’re spiritually satisfied.
How often do you wander aimlessly from your computer to the refrigerator to the couch? Do you feel unsettled and don’t know why or know why and don’t care? Do you feel the Holy Spirit nudge you closer to Him?
He knows your spirit is parched/starved and your spiritual hunger and thirst level are in danger zones.
Lack of Spiritual Hunger: Signs Your Spirit Needs An Uptick
Here are a few ways to diagnose your spirit to see if it’s hungry.
- Holiness is never on your mind. Rather than become holy (God said you could (I Peter 1:16), you concentrate on the world in place of sanctification. You don’t set yourself apart for God.
- Other things take precedence over your relationship with God. You commit to the wrong projects, TV programs, people, and other influences that dull spiritual hunger.
- You aren’t hungry. This means your spiritual tank is empty but you don’t see any reason to refill it.
- You’re full of yourself and trust your own abilities. There’s no reason to need God.
- Weariness and fatigue overtake you. Life wears you out because you attempt to carry what Jesus already has. To put it another way, your soul feels like it’s just above your toes.
- It seems like there’s an open pit or void distancing you from God. You may be depressed, restless, and anxious about life.
- Serving others is way down on your priority list. To be honest, there’s no spiritual overflow in your heart, mind, and spirit. Without an abundant spirit, you have nothing to give.
- Forgetting how it feels to seek God is a common sign that you’ve lost your spiritual hunger for Him. On the positive side, when you feel that way long enough you may find your way back to Him.
How To Satisfy Spiritual Hunger
- Jesus provided an answer on how to satisfy spiritual hunger in one Bible verse. Matthew 5:6 – “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, they will be filled.” Righteousness is simply right living. Besides, we are made righteous through our covenant relationship with God as Father, Jesus as Lord and Savior, and the Holy Spirit as Guide.
- Find God’s purpose for you. When you do, you realize how much you need God because His plans for His people are HUGE.
- Get in the Word and stay there. Certainly, if you’ve read the Bible X number of times, the Word won’t drain out of you. That’s not how it works. Believers must keep putting the Word inside them to stay spiritually energized and hungry. Believe me, I’ve tried running on empty. It never works. Under those circumstances, lowering your defense shield (by not filling up with God’s Word) puts you in a dangerous position with the enemy. Use Bible studies such as my Psalm 23 Bible Study and Book of Ephesians Bible Study to go deeper, higher, and wider with God.
- Fourthly, keep an eye on boredom. If you fail to find anything to do, that means there’s nothing that interests you. At the same time boredom sets in, loss of joy follows. Boredom reduces spiritual hunger because we forget that only God satisfies us. Boredom is God’s invitation to do what Isaiah said in Isaiah 55:1 – “Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters.” Specifically, God wants you to come and explore His possibilities for you.
Also . . .
- By all means, sidestep unhealthy cravings. Listen carefully when the Holy Spirit tells you to avoid certain people, foods and drinks, or activities that eat away at holiness. He doesn’t want you to feast on spiritual rubbish.
- Without delay, respond quickly to silent urgings by the Holy Spirit. Has your heart burned within you like the two disciples walking on the road to Emmaus? Jesus lit a fire in their hearts even though they failed to recognize it was Him.
Spiritual Hunger and Thirst Is a Good Thing
Given these points, your trajectory in life changes when you satisfy your spiritual hunger. And, of course, you must first accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior.
By staying full of Him, you have a spiritual reservoir that’s never empty. His life inside you overflows to everyone you meet.
Likewise, letting God win over your heart helps you go deeper with Him. When you dine with Him often, your spirit gets hungrier. You can’t wait to drink from his never-ending well to satisfy your soul.
Maybe you currently look up from a pit of darkness struggling to find light. All of us attempt to stuff our heart with anything to fill up the hole. Jesus told us how to be whole. Spiritual hunger in the Bible is described in John 6:35.
I am the Bread of Life. The one who comes to Me will never be hungry, and the one who believes in Me [as Savior] will never be thirsty [for that one will be sustained spiritually].
In summary, by coming to Jesus (often), fears flee, peace overtakes you, and life’s meaning becomes clear. All other strategies to satisfy spiritual hunger always fail.