Recieving

"Only the hungry dine, only the thirsty drink deep."
-Mystery, Misty Edwards

The more you ask for God, the more of Him you will receive. Blessed are you if you are unbearably hungry and thirsty, if you feel as though you can't go on living unless you touch the Eternal One, unless you hear His voice and see His face. Blessed are you, because Jesus promises that you will be filled--and this filling is not even directly proportional to the amount of effort we put in, or even the amount of passion in our hearts for Him. It is always much more than we ask for. God never withholds Himself from those who seek Him with a humble heart.

What we need to understand, though, is that we don't deserve that blessing. We don't deserve to be filled. We cannot have the mentality that, since we've put in so much effort/energy into seek God, we deserve for Him to show up. It is HE who deserves all of our love, devotion, worship, longing, energy--everything. Failing to understand this is failing to recognize that God is God. We must never, ever think of our relationship with God as a business transaction between equals, in which we pay Him with our time and love, and He pays us back by showing up when, where, and how we expect Him to. He is the only God, the Uncreated One, Holy and Wholly Other Than everything in all creation; therefore, He deserves all our affection, regardless of whether or not He chooses to acknowledge us.

Yet, not only does God acknowledge us, He loves us with an unstoppable, unquenchable, all-consuming love. He yearns for us far more than we yearn for Him! He began longing for communion with us before we even knew who He was. He loved us so much that He humbled Himself, He made Himself lower than all of us, so that He could raise us up and clothe us in His glory. Furthermore, God's love is not a vague, blanket-love for all of humanity. He loves us personally--He is the Good Shepherd who leaves the 99 to search for just one. THIS is the God we long for. Not a distant Being who's powerful, but uninterested. Not someone who might deign to give us some of His attention if we beg hard enough. We must always remember that the only reason we are even able to long for Him is because He first longed for us.

This God is completely worth seeking, not only because of who He is, but because He promises us that if we hunger and thirst for Him, He will not leave us empty and dry--"for they shall be filled."

Dwell on this truth, and live it out in faith. Hunger after Him with uninhibited passion, boldness, hope, and expectation.