2 Chronicles 20:13 All the men of Judah, with their wives and children and little ones, stood there before the Lord.

This is one of my favorite stories in the whole Bible. The setting is an insurmountable, disastrous problem, potentially fatal to everyone mentioned in this verse, with a large army headed their way that they had no power to oppose. Their response was exactly right: gathering before the Lord and acknowledging their total dependence on Him. With their hearts so prepared, God was free to speak through someone who was previously not known as a prophet, but everyone recognized it as something the Lord was saying to them, and acted accordingly, and the results were miraculous. You could say that the people mentioned in this verse had peak hunger for God. He certainly has a way of responding to that! Such hunger has triggered major moves of God throughout history, and we’re seeing one unfold even today. College-age young people, written off by many religious people, are turning to the Lord in repentance and faith, their hunger for God taking precedence over even their need for food and sleep. That level of spiritual hunger is precisely what the Lord was talking about when He told Jeremiah, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13) People today are so bloated with material goods that they can’t recognize their need for God. In nations like Japan and America we tend to feel sorry for people in “poor” countries, not recognizing that material goods do not equate genuine wealth. It’s like Jesus said to the church in Laodicea: “You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.” (Revelation 3:17) We need to recognize our need! Thankfully, Jesus followed up that stern warning by saying, “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent.” (Revelation 3:19) We can choose to wake up and recognize our need, and it is time to do so.

I am preaching to myself here. My physical needs are met, and even on the spiritual level I am greatly blessed, but there is so much more the Lord wants to pour out on and through me. The thing is, with the Lord there is always more, because He is infinite. I am to be grateful for all He has already poured out, but never think that is all, or, in a sense, even enough. There is a beloved song, I am Satisfied with Jesus, that is true enough, but the problem comes when that devolves into a kind of self-satisfaction. I am certainly not all I could be in Christ! It can be a difficult balance. The Lord has told me to rest, relax, and rejoice in Him, but that doesn’t mean I’m in any way to stop pressing in for more of Him. He is indeed marvelously satisfying, but there’s always more!

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You that indeed, Your grace is sufficient, (2 Corinthians 12:9) but there is always more. Help me always stay hungry for You, not for the world and its pleasures, so that all of Your purposes for me may be fulfilled, on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!