Pearls of Great Value

“Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” John 6:35 ESV

“Yes, feast on all the treasures of the heavenly realm and fill your thoughts with heavenly realities, and not with the distractions of the natural realm.” Colossians‬ ‭3:2‬ ‭TPT‬‬

A hunger for God. A hunger for the things of the kingdom of God. Why is that missing from our world? Why is it missing in us? Is it because there’s a mass feasting going on of the things of the world? It’s no secret that what we feed on will eventually define us. What we consume eventually consumes us. What we focus on, magnifies in our lives. And I guess if we are more interested in the ideas and the viewpoints of this world, constantly taking it in and seeking after it, we become next to obsessed with it. It’s only natural. Eating unhealthy foods? Usually doesn’t result in a healthy body. Same principle works in the mind and heart. You put garbage in, what do you think will be produced? My dad used to say, "Garbage in, garbage out! If you put garbage into your heart, garbage will come out of your heart, either by your mouth or by your actions. The same is true likewise. Put good in and good will pour out.

The Word of God says, “Lovers of God hunger after truth, but those without understanding feast on foolishness and don’t even realize it.” Proverbs‬ ‭15:14‬ ‭TPT‬‬. Hungry for truth! I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for truth to break through in our world. I’m ready for understanding and wisdom to be born in people’s hearts. I’m hungry for it. Can we stop feasting on foolishness? Please?

A hunger for God comes from God. It comes as you continually talk with Him. It comes as you read the Bible. As you meditate on the goodness within, you start to crave it day and night. On the opposite side of this, is the reality that the less time one spends with God, in reading the Bible and praying, the less hunger we have for Him. The hunger wanes and disappears. The more you feed on Gods Word, the more you will hunger for it. The more time you spend in His presence, the more you will long for more intimacy with Him.

There’s something wrong, Sons and Daughters, if we are more concerned about earthly things than heavenly reality. There’s something wrong when we are so consumed with social media, with sports, with collecting all this earthly knowledge, that Jesus doesn’t even cross our minds. There is something wrong when believers don’t know the beautiful and powerful truth of all that is Jesus Christ. When we don’t even realize that we are missing out.

When we taste and see how good the Lord is, we realize there is nothing, nothing that can ever replace this taste of heaven. When we draw near to Him, we realize that to be in His presence is a delight beyond comprehension. In His presence is fullness of joy, at His right hand are pleasures forevermore! (Psalm 16:11). To put it simply, nothing beats Jesus!

This question hunts me: how many truths and revelations, how many opportunities and breakthroughs, am I missing out on when I’m not spending time with God? When He give me an invitation to come and sit with Him, do I value that as a gift? It’s only in face to face conversation that I discover the secrets of a friends heart. The same is true of God. He gives to those that hunger for more, He imparts grace and favor to those who seek after Him. Investing in God will never be a loss! It moves Him when you invest time and energy into your relationship with Him. It moves Him to share His heart with you. Never neglect the secret place, that place of intimacy with God. Out of that place delight in Him is born, and love creates a place for blessings to flow.

Time. It’s so incredibly special. Life is in the moments. Moments that create memories, moments that shape and form relationships. Moments that build a foundation, a strong beginning to build upon. It’s those minutes throughout your days that count for something and shape your future. It’s the threads being woven together to build the rope. It’s the nails and the boards, the details and materials that create the building. Moment by moment, brick by brick, our lives are shaped and formed. Before we realize it, a house has been built, a community has been formed and it was all done in moment by moment. So, here’s the question on my heart. Where do we spend our moments? How do we spend our time? Do we even know the worth that time holds? That it is one of our greatest assets?

All of this to make one point. Time spent with God will never be wasted. Moments taken for the Word, will always be beneficial, no matter how small it might be. I think we’ve heard it said so many times it doesn’t penetrate our hearts anymore...but Christian, go spend some time with God! Yes, time. I have this theory which I really can’t prove on paper but I believe it’s true. The more time I spend with God, the more time I actually have in my day. Don’t ask me how it works, but He increases the time. It’s like He rewards and honors the moments I give Him, with more moments. Now, that is smile-worthy right there.

I pray for the children of heaven to rise up and be filled with a hunger for more. I pray that we awaken to see that the time is now. We can’t afford to be lazy or complacent. If we will not move, who will? For the enemy is on the move, like a prowling lion, seeking whom he may devour. And he isn’t stopping to check with us. Can we really say that we do not see this? Let us arise! Jesus is the real Lion of Judah! Satan can only pretend to be. If we listen we can hear the roar of Jesus within us: “Arise! Now is the time to invade with the kingdom of light and pierce through the darkness.”

Are you filling up on light? Are you feasting at the table of Jesus and gaining heavenly strength and wisdom? Is there within you a deep hunger for more of Him? Can He trust you with His secrets? Or are we so far removed from the Word we can’t perceive the voice of our Shepherd?

I have to ask myself these hard questions. I have to hold myself to a higher standard. If I won’t who else will? If I don’t care, who else should? Heaven waits for us to move on its behalf. If I won’t move, if you don’t move, who will? Can we afford to wait and say, someone else will do it? Let us get hungry for the things of heaven! Let us gain an appetite for the food of Jesus. So hungry that it impacts all the world around us and creates in others a hunger to have something different as well. When I see someone eating of something delicious and they are proclaiming on its taste and how wonderful it is, I get hungry for the same food. I can’t help it. Likewise, we can get others hungry for Jesus! But first it will be on us to eat of the Word and only then we can proclaim how wonderful it is. So, come to the table that He has prepared for you! Come and see that it is good!

““Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” Matt. 5:6 ESV

“Behold, I’m standing at the door, knocking. If your heart is open to hear my voice and you open the door within, I will come in to you and feast with you, and you will feast with me.” Revelation‬ ‭3:20‬ ‭TPT‬‬