From Discipline to Hunger

 

"He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things." Psalm 107:9

Hungry seagulls surrounded us as we tossed their feast upon the sea drenched sand. They fought and stumbled over every crumb, as though they hadn't eaten in days. The smartest - the ones  most disciplined and with the keenest eyes - caught the choicest bits in mid air.

My husband, Peter,  taunted one such hungry bird. Holding out a crusty morsel, the smart gull locked his gaze, waiting the bread's release. With every rise and fall of Peter's hand, the bird jumped and landed...jumped and landed...jumped and landed; his gaze and purpose ever fixed on that bread.

Over Lent, we've instilled three new disciplines: healthy eating, regular exercise, and praying together.

Why these? If this were a VLOG post (video blog), the first two would be obvious. Winter in New England + over 50 + office job creates a sedentary lifestyle. The prayer discipline comes from seeing our deperate world and knowing it's time to pray together,"God's Kingdom, come."

Why now? We chose Lent (40 days) as our starting point because (1) human behavior proves it takes thirty days to change old habits into new disciplines and (2) led by the Holy Spirit, Jesus endured a forty day wilderness fast in preparation for his earthly ministry. Both my husband and I feel God's moving us forward.

We sat outside a seaside church Sunday morning, gazing up at a steeple-perching seagull. I smiled, recalling the silly seagull-feeding antics of the previous day and I heard God whisper, "Move from discipline to hunger. Hunger for Jesus more than food, more than prayer or reading My Word. Hunger for Me."

Jesus, our choicest morsel - the Bread of Life - broken for me and you. His outstretched arms freely offer up grace and extend to us, life everlasting, but more than that, He offers us an intimate, satisfying relationship with our Creator - God himself.

What disciplines help you to hunger more for of God's presence?