Where are the truly hungry people today?  Where are the people today who are concerned more for their souls than their comforts?  Where are the people today who want to follow Jesus in discipleship at all costs?

As I write this I am wholly dissatisfied with my own soul hunger for God.  I am longing for deep substance for my soul in the midst of the sea of information that barrages me everyday.  I long for deep relationships that feed upon God’s heart and feed one another for mutual encouragement.  What about you?

Jesus says in John 6:35, “I am the bread of life.  Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again.  Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”  What a promise, but how do we experience this kind of soul satisfaction?  How do we move into this kind of resting and abiding relationship with Jesus?

If we are not growing in our hunger for God then we are feeding on the world’s food which can never truly satisfy our soul.  So how does one get hungry for God?  I believe that two essential things position us for growing hungry for God and experiencing his deep food for our soul:

1.) Learn to direct our First Thoughts in the morning Godward

2.) Submit ourselves to a regular discipleship group

The greatest catalyst for spiritual growth is learning to direct our “First Thoughts” in the morning Godward.  We have to submit our souls to the lavish banquet of food that God offers to us in His Presence.  This should be spiritual discipline number one and most of us need to be shown how. We need accountability to set that alarm a little early and begin this process with discipline that will turn to passionate desire if we approach God with faith.

In 1 Peter 5:5-6, Peter addresses church leaders and those they are leading, “In the same way, you younger men must accept the authority of the elders.  And all of you, serve each other in humility, for God opposes the proud but favors the humble.  So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor.”  This is saying that those who lead must lead with humility and by living a good example. (vs3)  So, what does this verse mainly mean by saying that we are to humble ourselves?

When Jesus gave the Great Commission that his followers were to make disciples of all nations, this required that his followers disciple others with humility and by showing their own lives an example to follow.  But before someone can disciple someone else they must “submit” themselves – “humble” themselves to discipleship themselves.

It is in submitting ourselves to others in discipleship that we humble ourselves and open ourselves up to the favor of God.  If we are not willing to do this then we are actually putting ourselves in opposition to God.  But as we do submit to discipleship God’s incredible promise is that “at the right time He will lift us up in honor.”  What is this lifting to honor?  It is the honor of being a spiritual leader in His church who now is ready to disciple others with humility and a life worth following.

Make a commitment to rise early in the morning and give your First Thoughts to God – He will meet you there with a banquet for your soul.  And if you are not in a discipleship group ask God to show you a person in your church that is humble and worthy of being followed and see if they are leading a group that you could join.

God wants to make you hungry and satisfy your soul so you can in turn make others hungry for God and disciple them into His riches.

Picture: Rainbow at Midway Lake, Independence Pass Area, Aspen CO