Spirit Hunger Part 1

Last week I encouraged each of you to join me on the journey I was beginning to take in reading Gari Meacham’s book “Spirit Hunger: filling our deep longing to connect with God.” If you didn’t take the pledge, I strongly encourage you to reconsider. I have only attacked part one of three, but this book is already a blue print to the way I should be living--hungry for Christ. This book has become one big highlighted page for me, covered in pen marks and excessive amounts of “YES!” written amongst Meacham’s powerful words.

Part one (a heart that longs) tackles what we long for and what we are yoked to. Both of these should be Jesus Christ, but for many of us it is other things--money, alcohol, sex, food, clothing, etc. We long for these false idols in our life, when we should be longing for a relationship with Christ. These things are fine in moderation. Should we never buy new clothing? Should we never have a glass of wine at dinner? No, but “when the need becomes greater than the pleasure, we’ve moved into chaos. We can number and stuff ourselves in a myriad of ways, but Spirit hunger is filled by God himself--not by Satan’s cunning substitutes”(31).

For me this is shopping. This is difficult for me to admit, but for several years I have struggled with what many label as a shopping addiction. There are times I have gone into Sephora for 1 thing and left $350 later. I have a lack of self control that does not mix well with anxiety and depression. This addiction began my sophomore year of college. I had made the decision that I needed to leave Regis University, but had to finish the final three months of the semester before I could return home to Southern California. I was so hurt, so unhappy, so lost in my life there, that I filled the void in my heart and mind with shopping. It felt great in the moment. All the new clothes, new makeup, and new shoes made me feel amazing. Until I got home from the shopping trip and still felt alone, depressed, and was several hundred dollars short than a couple hours before. These purchases were a temporary fix to a long-term problem. Instead of handling my emotions, I shopped about them. As the years have gone on, I have maintained this struggle. Instead of filling myself with God, I have filled myself with earthly things that will mean nothing in the after life.

One thing that stood out to me in “Spirit Hunger” was when Meacham said, “I don’t want to be a committed Christian; I want to be a desperate Christian”(14). I was so confused what this meant. Desperation is attached to a negative connotation. However, in our relationships with the Lord, we should be longing for him, not meekly satisfied with attending church on Sunday morning then closing our Bibles and our hearts for the rest of the week. “We long for nurturing, attention, and affirmation; we long for filling and purpose; we long for intimacy--to hear and be heard; we long for discipline”(17) but we should be longing for Jesus Christ! God provides us with each of these, but we are too blind to see it.

Favorite Bible Verse shared by Gari: “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is now law”(Galatians 5:22-23).

This week I encourage each of you to pick up this book. Dive into it with an open mind and an open heart. Pray on each word Gari has written that it may speak to you in whichever way you need to hear. I continually pray over this blog and each of it’s readers. I am grateful for each of you, for this book, and that I have this outlet for my voice to be heard. Next Sunday I will be back with my thoughts on part two. Have a blessed week!