Satisfied Or Desperate

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”  (Matthew 5:6)

We speak often of God’s provision and of His answers to prayer in areas of physical need.  But sometimes we become so focused on becoming satisfied and comfortable, that we forget that being desperate is also a good thing.  I came across two interesting questions the other day in a magazine. “Does your church try to satisfy people’s needs or intensify their longings?  Do you service customers or fan a desperation for God?”

The writer went on to say that in biblical history, when needs are met, people tend to forget God and His will for their lives.  In the times of greatest physical comfort, Israel turned away from God.  When the good times came, so did the rebellion.

The hunger for God is essential for a healthy Christian life.  The hunger for righteousness is an indicator of spiritual health; the hunger to see righteousness in our own lives and in the lives of others who as yet do not know the Saviour.

So what motivates us to purchase pew chairs?  It’s a great question.  Is it to get more comfortable, or is it because we want to create a ministry environment around which others, who do not know Christ, will come and be saved?  Are these chairs for us, or for the community?  Is it because of our desperation to see righteousness born in the hearts of unbelievers that we purchase them?  Is it because we love and care for people that we care about their time spent in our building.

Any building program or project, which is founded on a desire to get more comfortable and more satisfied, will decrease our own desperation to see God’s kingdom advanced.  So let’s buy those pew chairs.  But let us buy them out of an intense hunger to see men and women come to know Christ.  Let’s picture each empty chair as an opportunity to see it filled with lost and hurting people.

Remember comfort and satisfaction only leads to a cooling of our hearts for God, while sacrificial obedience to God and service toward others, can only lead to a hunger for more of God.