“I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.” (Psalm 81:10)
We all hunger and thirst for many things, don’t we? And it’s not just for food and water. According to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, once our basic physiological needs are met, we then aspire to satisfy our psychological and self-actualization needs, such as intimate relationships, feeling of accomplishment and achieving our full potential. While all these needs can be met to a certain extent, there is a need that spans across all the levels, and if recognized and satisfied, it fulfills our deepest longings far beyond what we dream is possible. Unfortunately, it’s a need that many people don’t even know they have, so it gets neglected. And like any need that’s ignored and unmet, it can lead to frustration, boredom and depression, which is not what we were created for. When created things don’t fulfill their destiny, like cars that won’t start or refrigerators that won’t cool, that can be pretty aggravating. But when people don’t get to experience the joy, excitement and contentment of living the kind of life that they were created for, then that’s a tragedy.
Know the Greatest Need
So, what need does our Creator want us to be aware of and to quench? I’ll give you a clue: What do parents (or grandparents) enjoy the most about being with their kids? I can tell you from experience, it’s when they run to me, snuggle with me and tell me that they love me. It’s a mutually enjoyable exchange. Now, since we were made in the image of God, I can’t help but think that he longs to have that mutual experience with you and me. Need some more evidence?
A man’s steps are established by the LORD, and the LORD delights in his way…the LORD takes pleasure in his people… he rescued me because he delights in me. (Psalm 37:23, 149:4, 18:19)
Paul prayed that we would “grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.” (Ephesians 3:18)
Some of us might need a more accurate view of God and to understand that he wants us to know him and not just serve him:
This is what the Lord says, “Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches, but let him who boasts boast about this; that they have the understanding to know me.” (Jeremiah 9:23-24)
What do you have an Appetite for?
We need to ask ourselves, “What do I have an appetite for? Is it to do and acquire things that I can’t take with me when I meet the Lord and have to give an account of what I have done with the time and resources he has given me? Or will I devote myself to follow closely after him and help as many people come to know him as I can? That option is not easy to accomplish, but it satisfies our greatest need, not only in this life but in the one to come.
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:19-21)
Acquire a Taste
Remember the first time you tried a certain food or drink that at first you weren’t crazy about? Then, after awhile, you began to like it, maybe even crave it. That’s the way I was with reading my Bible and prayer. It wasn’t until I decided to pursue God relentlessly to see if he could be known by digging into his word and reading helpful books and talking with him more than at meal times that I began to sense his presence and see what I had been missing. I acquired a taste for his daily bread and a close walk with him!
Taste and see that the LORD is good. How happy is the man who takes refuge in Him! (Psalm 34:8)
Open your Mouth Wide!
I think that a lot of us don’t expect much from God. Maybe he hasn’t answered our prayers the way we wanted him to or we have become so accustomed to living mediocre lives that we don’t ask him for much anymore. If that’s the case, my friends, then we have set the bar way too low. We have let our faith lie dormant. Jesus said that “the Kingdom of God is within you” and the apostle Paul said that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in us. Let’s tap into those amazing resources! I like how Charles Spurgeon put it:
Let us come and open our mouth and pant, as David did when he said, “As the deer pants after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after Thee, O God.” So let us come before our God… come with your mouth wide open, and stand there before God. Or be like the little bird in its nest; open your mouth towards heaven. Mark how the parched earth, in times of drought, cracks and opens its mouth for the rain. Let your parched heart begin to pray in the presence of your God, and ask for His grace.”
Let’s give our consent to accept all that the Lord has promised to give us. He says he wants to fill us up, if only we will open our mouths wide enough!
Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! For he has satisfied the thirsty soul, and the hungry soul he has filled with what is good. (Psalm 107: 8,9)
Dwell in His secret place 