Are you hungry and desperate for God?
Are you hungry enough for God?
Is Jesus your redeemer, your kinsman-redeemer?
When we are hungry and desperate for God we do not care what the food we get looks like we just eat it. This is true for actual physical hunger. For instance, when someone gets hungry enough they will just about eat anything to fulfill their hunger. Even in the most unlikely places.
What about your spiritual hunger?
Who is feeding and filling your spiritual hunger? Is it God? Is it the approval of man?
These questions have been on my mind frequently. They have made me think about how God fulfills my spiritual hunger. He is everything to me. God is enough for me. He never fails and never loses a battle. Sometimes I need that reminder more often than I think I do. Knowing I can count on God gives me peace. I hope it gives you peace in knowing He is always working. God does not slumber on our watch.
The reason I bring this up is, that I was reading Ruth again recently. Now even though God is never mentioned in the book of Ruth it is very evident in how His footprint is there. The book of Ruth is about redemption. It is not just about how Ruth gets her man, Boaz. I guess that is just icing on the cake in the story. God is our redeemer just like how Boaz is Ruth's redeemer.
By the way, if you are a single woman in the church or just recently gotten married then I am guessing you have probably heard all the Boaz/Ruth jokes. Whether you are in the church or not, or heard it from pastors themselves who think they are funny. The point is my favorite is like "You better be looking for a Boaz, not a Bozo." This is just a side note of humor for your reading pleasure. No Pun intended.
Moreover, back to being spiritually hungry for God. When we are spiritually hungry for God we are less likely to be picky on how we are filled by God. Sometimes God uses the most unlikely people to speak into our lives to impact us and fill us. He can even use the people who push our buttons to get our attention on how we are being filled spiritually.
Besides, when we are spiritually hungry for God to fill us we are desperate for the living water. We are hungry to be filled with the right things because we are tired of the wrong things we have been seeking out. When we get tired of the wrong things is when we realize where we messed up or got off track with seeking God for spiritual food.
What do spiritual hunger and God being our redeemer have to do with each other?
Being spiritually hungry is wanting to be fulfilled in our souls to be seen and known. It is knowing we are loved deep within our souls. This fulfillment can only come from God. Nothing else on this earth can satisfy our souls the way God's agape love can. No other human being can give us what God can. As human beings, we are flawed and fall short.
Whereas, God is full of unconditional love. His love does not end. No amount of success or money can give us what are spiritual souls need. This world of hustle and culture of self-love will only get us a fleeting moment of happiness. In comparison, God's love satisfies every part of us. That is the power of His redeeming love.
The redeeming love of God is seen throughout the whole book of Ruth without ever mentioning God's name at all. Which is the same in the entire book of Esther. The evidence of God's redeeming love is seen in how He fulfills our spiritual hunger. God's redeeming love fills the empty spaces where we have allowed other things to take our attention off of Him. He fills the darkest places and fills them with His love and light.
Jesus is our redeeming light which casts out darkness to fill us with His love.
References:
English Standard Version Study Bible (2008) Crossway Publishing, Wheaton IL,
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