Day 221

I'm wearing RED shoes on this 221st day of  The Red Shoe Project.   I can't, for the life of me, stop thinking about this person I just met.
The other day, Bonnie and I were once again at Starbucks, when along came a girlfriend of ours with her husband.  We invited them to sit with us while they sipped on their drinks.  Almost immediately, we broke into a dynamic discussion about drawing closer to Christ.  This man was so hungry for God!  What a sight for sore eyes!  It was awesome!

So this is what True Hunger for God  looks like!

I know what  "HUNGRY"  feels like.  You've heard me time and time again, cry out,   "MORE OF HIM!"   I just can't get enough!   But to witness that intense desire in someone else is just as exciting!

"I want more!"  he exclaimed.  "How do I get that?  How do I get to that next level with God?  Do I just keep doing what I'm doing, only more often?"

Good questions -- followed by an informative discussion that contained solid answers.  It was a divine appointment.  God brought him right to us.   Yes... at Starbucks, of all places!

It's apparent that this

man is walking on his own 

Yellow Brick Road looking 

for all that God has to offer.  

Yahoo!  I'm excited for him!
I wished I could have fitted him
with a pair of men's RED Nike 
sneakers right then and there!  LOL.

So tonight, I met with another friend,  (Yup... at the coffee shop),  for some good conversation around  God's Word.  She's another one...  

TOTALLY HUNGRY 

for God!  

She's an empty vessel ready and waiting for God to fill her each day.  "MORE!" She wants it all!  and God is glad to give it to her.  "Where should I start in the Bible?"  she asked.  "What should I be reading?   She'd be in church or Bible study everyday if it were available.

All this has got me to thinking about the word, 

"HUNGRY"

When someone is Spiritually Hungry, they are:

• Starving
• Severely suffering or dying spiritually due to lack of spiritual nourishment.
• In desperate need of spiritual food.
• Can't survive without some sort of spiritual intake.
• Malnourished - deprived of spiritual sustenance
• Famished - ravenous, in need of daily bread.
• Empty - hollow, there's nothing left, all reserves have been exhausted
• Depleted - Down to zero,  spent, totally consumed.

Jesus declares, 

 "I am the bread of life.

Whoever comes to me 
will never go hungry

and whoever 
believes in me 

will never be thirsty."

John 6:35

In pondering all this, I came across something that I never noticed before.  It has to do with our Spiritual Metabolism... the process of turning spiritual food into fuel. If you do any research on healthy eating, you'll find that it's recommended that a person eats several smaller meals throughout the day as opposed to one or two big meals. This is called, "grazing."   Continual grazing keeps the furnace burning.   In the same respect, when we continually graze on spiritual food,  it keeps our fire burning.  Amen?

When our fire is continually burning like that, our metabolism rate is kicked up to high, and everything within us gets consumed.  It becomes a cycle of taking in spiritual food, digesting it and giving out to others.  Before long,  you're empty again -- you need more food! -- so back you go, into His presence.   The cycle repeats itself over and over again.
The point is... 

The more consistently you take in 

and give out, spiritually, 

the more desperate you are going to be 

for "More of Him," continually!

That's why people who are hungry for Jesus are always coming back for more!  They get in His presence. They fill up. They go into the world and share the Good News. When they near empty, they come back into His presence to fill up again.  

Being Hungry is about being Empty.

It's a weird feeling when I've given out all I have spiritually.  A realization comes to me, "I've got nothing left to give!"  People aren't looking for Gail...  they are looking for God. So when I'm empty of spiritual things, I've got to go back to The Source for more.  Gail's got nothing to offer on her own!

In years past, there were times when I gave out a little here
and a little there.  I had a spiritual metabolism, but it operated at a slower speed.  When I fueled myself less often, my body stored up much of what I had in reserves...  that's called FAT.  When we don't fuel frequently, our body thinks we're starving and stores our intake for personal emergencies.  I don't want to be a FAT Christian!  I want to be a FIT Christian... one that's
on fire for God!

There's no need for me to store up fat.  Jesus offers a never-ending,  daily supply and His bakery is open 24/7.  

I'm off to bed now and I've placed my RED sneakers by the door.  They're right there for me to pop on first thing in the morning when I head out to the "bread line."

See you there.
Gail