Are You Hungry?

(Prov 16:26 GNB) A laborer's appetite makes him work harder, because he wants to satisfy his hunger.

Here Solomon gives us an interesting proverb. He was in charge on an entire kingdom. He had countless citizens under his dominion and countless employees directly working for his throne. Solomon knew a thing or two about management and motivation.

He tells us that that one of the greatest motivations people have is their hunger. While they are working for others, to earn a living, their hunger is working for them, motivating them to continue on. The worker knows that if he stops working he won’t get paid and will therefore not have the money to sustain himself.

So if he is ever tempted to stop working, his appetite helps him overcome his desire to quit.

This reminds me of something Paul said in the New Testament. In Paul’s second letter to the church in Thessalonica Paul said, “If a man will not work, he shall not eat” (2 Thes 3:10). While this sounds cruel, it is a call against laziness and it is connected to what we learn from Solomon. If you are hungry and you know that you can satisfy your hunger by simply earning the resources (by working) to buy food, then your hunger will become your inspiration.

I have only been talking about physical hunger thus far and by all indications that is what Solomon was referring to. But I do believe the same principles apply to spiritual and person goals.

If you don’t have a hunger – an inner drive, an insatiable desire – for something, then it will be difficult for you to put in the work required to attain it.

One of the greatest reasons why believers do what they do is because of the vision the Father has placed in their heart. We are in February 2010, but many of us already know where we want to be at the end of the year. Many of us can “see” ourselves two years, three years, and five years from now. That God-given vision creates a hunger (a holy desire) to see it come to pass.

Even when we feel like giving up, throwing in the towel, quitting, and just being lazy, it is the hunger to see the vision come to pass that motivates us to keep going.

James said, “Take the old prophets as your mentors. They put up with anything, went through everything, and never once quit, all the time honoring God. What a gift life is to those who stay the course! You've heard, of course, of Job's staying power, and you know how God brought it all together for him at the end. That's because God cares, cares right down to the last detail” (5:10,11 MSG).

What is it that kept the prophets of old as they endured and overcame their challenges? What is it that gave Job his staying power? What is it that kept Joseph as he went from a pit to a palace? I believe it was an inner hunger to maximize their purpose and potential in life BEFORE they died!

So what does this mean to you ? It means that you must keep the vision before you. It is that vision that will create a hunger in your soul to see it come to pass. During the Sermon on the Mount Jesus said, “ Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” (Mat 5:6). If you are truly hungry for it, then you will put in the work required to make it happen. Don’t sit down, don’t be lazy, don’t give up, and don’t quit; allow your hunger to motivate you to keep going!

Father, I know that life is a gift to those who simply stay the course. I declare, by faith, that I have staying power. You have placed vision down inside of me and I keep that vision before me. I can see myself – with my spiritual eyes – years down the road. It is that mental picture, that vision, that keeps me going. My vision creates a hunger and thirst in my soul that will not be filled until I see, in my hands, what I have already received in my heart. While I work for others my hunger is working for me. I am hungry and I will never quit! In Jesus’ name. Amen!