By Francis Frangipane
Being the habitation of God is a spiritual reality for every follower of Christ. It is your destination. There must be a constant hunger and thirst within, not just on a Sunday morning or in scattered moments throughout your day. You have been called to be a disciple—in your workplace, school, environment, neighborhood, and home.
To be a disciple, you must allow your hunger and thirst for righteousness to keep you moving forward in God until you get to the throne of God. That's the goal for your hunger and thirst. A young man came to a sage, a wise old man, and said, "I want to know God. Tell me how to truly know God."
The wise old man replied, "You want to know about God? Do you want to know who God is? Come with me." He walked down a hill to a lake, then walked right into the lake.
The young man thought, "I'm going to be baptized. He will do something here."
The wise man turned around as the young man walked into the water. The young man was about neck deep, and the older man put his hand on the young man's head and put him under the water. The young man thought, "He's baptizing me; he'll let me up in a minute."
But the old man didn't let him up. He held him down. He continued to hold him under the water until the young man's lungs were ready to burst because he was drowning. Finally, he pushed the old man's arms off and burst through the water. His face was startled and shocked.
The old man said, "When you want God the way you wanted air, you'll understand the hunger and thirst necessary to bring you into the presence of God."
As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for You, God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; when shall I come and appear before God?
—Psalm 42:1–2
What are hunger and thirst? They are emptiness. That is what the beginning stage of our journey has been producing: emptiness. You have been emptied of pride, self, and ambition. God has been excavating the dirt out of His building site in your heart. The mighty shovel of God's hand can remove all fears and sins, making us a fearless, holy people before Him. Through Him, nothing is impossible. And it can happen for everyone, including you.
Perhaps you feel that God has never used you for anything. Maybe you have been tucked so deeply into obscurity that you have never peeked out to see what life was about, afraid to live and afraid to die.
Allow me to encourage you to get out. Get involved in the process. Get involved in repentance. Get involved in being honest before God. Get involved in becoming meek and trembling when God speaks. Embrace this process of change.
Lord, show me that the way of change is the way of honesty, repentance, and humility, leading to hunger, hearing, and seeing God. Lord, give me faith to believe that You're bigger than my excuses for why I can't change. Deal with my sin and get to the heart of the matter so that You can reveal Yourself. Help me embrace the call to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.
Adapted from Francis Frangipane's newest book, The Heart That Sees God available at www.arrowbookstore.com.