What Are You Hungry For?

Something that has been troubling me for a while is my lack of hunger for God's word. I wake up in the mornings and hurry about my daily routine often completely forgetting to meet with the Lord. When I do remember to have my quiet time, it is often done just for the sake of checking it off my to do list. I've been trying and trying to spend consistent time in God's word, and I just couldn't understand why I still had no desire for it. Then I realized. I'm not hungry for God's word because I've been filling myself with other things!

I fill myself to the brim with other media such as movies, books (school and pleasure-reading), blogposts, facebook statuses and news updates until I'm not hungry for anything else. When it comes time to read God's word, I've already stuffed myself with "junk food." After coming to this realization, I determined to cut out some of the "junk" in my life and focus more on reading God's word. So three weeks ago this past Sunday, I de-activated my facebook account and stopped watching movies. (It was amazing how much extra time this created!)

When I started, it was right around Lent season. Although as an evangelical Christian I don't usually participate in Lent, it was amazing how liberating it was to give something up and how it helped me to focus. At first, my flesh kept craving entertainment, but eventually my mind began to find sustenance in other things. Examining our mental and physical cravings is also a good way to assess the state of our hearts. So what are you hungry for? Do you long for the temporary "junk" of this world, or do you thirst after the "living water" which truly satisfies? (John 4:13-14)

(Update: I am still going strong and facebook free, although when I got sick I caved and watched several movies)