Back in my high school days, about the best paying summer job that a boy could have was to haul hay. I and my friends would hire ourselves out to area farmers. We would drive through their hay fields on a big truck, loading it full of hay bales that weighed 75-100 lbs. each. We would then drive them to the barn and stack them there. Then we would return to the field for another load. We would typically haul about 1,000 bales a day. It was hard, hot work that involved long days.
Summer days in Kansas are hot and I would have a great "farmer's tan." It didn't take long to work up a sweat and for the itchy hay to start sticking to your skin. But the worst of it was when we were stacking the hay into the top of a hot tin barn on a hot summer afternoon. You would often be up on a stack of hay bales, close to the tin roof of the barn. There wasn't any air circulating. Your arms were scratched up from the hay, your skin was covered with dirt and hay, and you inhaled all that stuff as you worked. (You could blow some amazing things out of your nose when you got out of the barn!) It didn't take long until the only thing you wanted was a drink of water. A big drink of water! Just water! Cool water! Clear water! Water! Your thirst was incredible!
Have you even been thirsty like that? Or hungry like that? So thirsty or hungry that you couldn't get food or drink out of your mind? So hungry or thirsty that you didn't think you could make it another minute?
How often to I hunger for God like that? Do I ever get to the place where you want to know God so much that you can hardly stand it? For a life-style that honors him and models Christ? Or have I let other things dull my hunger for him? Have I let "junk food" - the things I see, hear, read, watch and the values that the world lives by - dull my hunger for God? God promises that if we hunger and thirst for him and for a life that honors him, we will be filled, satisfied, fulfilled.
Most of the time, the problems in our lives come from the fact that we hunger and thirst for the wrong things. Other time we try to satisfy our hunger and thirst by our own means, rather than hungering and thirsting for God and letting him fill our desires. I came across a verse in my time with God this morning that says God "satisfies your desires with good things." (Psalm 103:5) When we try to satisfy our desires our way, we often mess things up. When we hunger and thirst for God and trust him to take care of our desires, he satisfies them with good things.
Summer days in Kansas are hot and I would have a great "farmer's tan." It didn't take long to work up a sweat and for the itchy hay to start sticking to your skin. But the worst of it was when we were stacking the hay into the top of a hot tin barn on a hot summer afternoon. You would often be up on a stack of hay bales, close to the tin roof of the barn. There wasn't any air circulating. Your arms were scratched up from the hay, your skin was covered with dirt and hay, and you inhaled all that stuff as you worked. (You could blow some amazing things out of your nose when you got out of the barn!) It didn't take long until the only thing you wanted was a drink of water. A big drink of water! Just water! Cool water! Clear water! Water! Your thirst was incredible!
Have you even been thirsty like that? Or hungry like that? So thirsty or hungry that you couldn't get food or drink out of your mind? So hungry or thirsty that you didn't think you could make it another minute?
How often to I hunger for God like that? Do I ever get to the place where you want to know God so much that you can hardly stand it? For a life-style that honors him and models Christ? Or have I let other things dull my hunger for him? Have I let "junk food" - the things I see, hear, read, watch and the values that the world lives by - dull my hunger for God? God promises that if we hunger and thirst for him and for a life that honors him, we will be filled, satisfied, fulfilled.
Most of the time, the problems in our lives come from the fact that we hunger and thirst for the wrong things. Other time we try to satisfy our hunger and thirst by our own means, rather than hungering and thirsting for God and letting him fill our desires. I came across a verse in my time with God this morning that says God "satisfies your desires with good things." (Psalm 103:5) When we try to satisfy our desires our way, we often mess things up. When we hunger and thirst for God and trust him to take care of our desires, he satisfies them with good things.
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled."
Matthew 5:6
"As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?" Psalm 42:1-2
"As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?" Psalm 42:1-2
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After my last post on rap music, I received a comment from Deepness 07. She said:
Listen to conscience rappers such as Talib Kweli, Common, Az, Kanye West, Nas (you'll be REALLY surprised!)
I confess that I over-generalized the rap genre and appreciate the information and the chance to check out some more positive artists. Thanks for correcting me!
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