“And the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” (Exodus 33: 19)

In this chapter of Exodus, Moses is speaking directly with God. He’s walking with God. He’s even, on behalf of all God’s peoples, making direct demands of God. Moses was a man who was hungry for God, and he’s certainly at the front of the spiritual buffet line.

Meanwhile, here I am. Even just a few years ago, I was at a very different place. I wasn’t even getting to the buffet line. I felt a hunger for something that was missing, but God was not on my menu.

When my family moved to Pittsboro, I left all the “church decisions” to my wife. My only obligation was to physically get inside the building. In one church experience, my wife opted to do the group Bible study prior to the service. That wasn’t for me. So even on Sunday morning, I served myself work for breakfast. 

Instead of the Bible, I opted to sit in the building lobby and get caught up on emails.

One morning I was in the lobby, typing away. A man approached me and asked, “What are you doing here?”

While I politely talked about my wife, I thought to myself, “Brother, I am asking myself the exact same question.”

I was hungry for something. I was technically at the right place. But I had not accepted God’s offer to his table. But God wasn’t done sending invitations.

Things changed the first morning we tried Chatham Community Church. That morning, I still felt an empty hunger. But as a volunteer opened the door for my family, something felt different. The warm greeting. The hospitality. Coffee. Donuts. The music. A particularly well-placed Star Wars reference during the sermon.

The entire vibe was on a whole new level. And I decided to take my empty spiritual plate and offer it to God.  

But to be honest, that morning I was not immediately treated to a spiritual feast, satisfying all that gnawing hunger. Sitting with a donut and cup of coffee, I also figuratively shared a donut and coffee with God. And then, slowly but deliberately, God worked on my hunger, spiritual meal by meal to help fill my life with something very real and very powerful.

I know I’m no Moses. But I still walk with God. My relationship with God continues to fill me and nourish me.  Step by step, bite by bite, day by day, I know God is working on me, with me, and through me.

We’re all in different spots in our faith, but we’re all hungry for God. And that’s true whether you’ve been at His table for years or are just finding your seat.  Make space this week to take time to sit down and share with God what’s inside of you. Offer your hunger to him, and invite Him to satisfy it.