Hunger NOW, Cry NOW, Be FILLED

In the Beatitudes (Luke 6:20-23), Jesus twice says "now."

"Blessed are you who hunger now, For you shall be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, For you shall laugh." (NKJV) - verse 21

So if you want to be filled with food and filled with laughter, it's not enough to have hungered and cried previously and it won't do you current good to plan on hungering or crying tomorrow or later today. You need to do it NOW.

I have been instructed by my doctor and dietitian to eat 6 small meals a day in order to keep my blood sugar levels more stable. This has changed my life drastically in many ways. Firstly, my metabolism has increased which has caused me to lose weight (in a good way) and my energy has increased. Secondly, if I eat too much at any given meal, I won't be hungry in time to eat again. Then I have to eat when I'm not hungry.

Eating when I'm not hungry is one of the least satisfying things that I do. I really don't like to do it but I have to do it. And so I have become good at not eating too much and I seldom eat junk food anymore. That way when it is time to eat, I have a hunger to satisfy which makes ingesting that food all the more pleasurable to me. Much more satisfying!

Sometimes we eat the Word of God out of habit, out of discipline, out of obligation even when we are not hungry and it isn't nearly as satisfying. I do believe that you should read God's Word every day no matter how you feel, but I also do believe that we are responsible for our own level of hunger by being purposeful about not filling our lives with "junk food"... the junk food of busy-ness, meaningless entertainment, so on and so forth.

I need to come to God hungry. I need to open God's Word hungry and eager to eat! And when I do that, His Word promises that I will be filled!

The greatest times of weeping that I have experienced have been when I become aware of my own sin, failures and weaknesses. My mistakes and my disobedience towards my God. The conviction which the Holy Spirit brings upon us is necessary and the results are beautiful. I pour my heart out to God, I come to Him appealing for mercy and He grants it and I end up feeling so great and filled with joy! It is awesome to be cleansed from my sins and cleared of all unrighteousness. There is nothing else like that!

So the question that I am posing today is this. Are you hungry NOW? Are you crying NOW? When you hunger, wait to eat from the table of the Lord and don't accept inferior food. When you cry, direct your tears towards the feet of Jesus the same way the sinful woman with the alabaster jar did when she washed His feet and ask Him to cleanse you of your sins. If you hunger NOW and weep NOW, you WILL be filled! You will be satisfied!