In Search of the Spiritually Hungry

Have you ever lost something and searched endlessly for it? I lost my iPhone the other day. I looked everywhere for it but couldn’t find it. So I used a feature called Find My iPhone. As it turned out, the phone was eight feet from where I was sitting. I had dropped it in the cushion of a chair. When I mentioned this to my son Jonathan, he said, "I’ve done even worse. I used it, and my phone was in my shirt pocket."

When you lose something, you search for it until you find it. God searches, too, although He doesn’t lose things like we do. He knows where everything is and where everyone is. Yet He is searching for people who want to grow spiritually. He is looking for fertile, receptive soil where He can plant the seed of His Word, soil in which His Word can take root in our hearts.

God won’t force His truth into our lives; He wants us to desire it. He doesn’t force-feed us. As 1 Peter 2:2 tells us, "As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby."

Healthy people are hungry people. If you are in good spiritual health, you will be hungry for the Word of God. A spiritual appetite is a good sign of a mature Christian. God is looking for soil like that. He is looking for people who want to hear His Word.

We are the ones who decide what kind of soil our hearts will be. We decide whether we will move forward spiritually or whether we will go backward spiritually. It is really up to us. God wants us to grow, but we must want to grow as well. There is God’s part, and there is our part.