Nancy Leigh DeMoss asked Dr. Juli Slattery to lead a breakout session at True Woman ’12 after hearing her story (below) earlier this year. The lasting fruit in Juli’s life has been sweet, as has her impact on Nancy’s life as a result. Get a taste of Juli’s message below.
Over the past eighteen months, I’ve learned that one of the greatest gifts God can give us is hunger . . . a hunger for Him. Have you ever felt famished for the presence of God? Can you identify with David when He writes:
Oh, God, you are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you,
my body longs for you,
in a dry and weary land
where there is no water (Psalm 63:1).
We usually get hungry and thirsty for God during a season of drought or great difficulty. But that’s not what happened to me. God began to move through a random circumstance.
My husband, Mike, convinced me to join him in an intense ninety-day home exercise program called “P90X.” When he introduced the idea, I protested. Where would I find the time to work out every day for an hour? We have three boys and both work. Eventually, though, I gave in and joined Mike for early morning workouts.
After a few days, Mike dropped out, but I kept going. As the ninety days came to an end, I noticed how much my body had changed because of my early morning dedication. I sensed the Lord asking, “Would you be willing to do a spiritual P90X?” If my body had drastically changed, how might my faith grow if I had the same dedication to train early every morning? I thought of Paul’s words to Timothy:
Physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. (1 Tim. 1:8)
I took that step of faith and started getting up around 4:30 a.m.—not to train my body—but to see how God would train my faith. What has transpired since then is impossible to put into words. The Lord has given me a hunger for intimacy with Him that I never knew before. His Word began to jump off the page with new meaning. He called me to a deeper devotion that transformed my marriage, my work, really . . . my life.
I am a woman who has always known how to work hard for the Lord. Now, though, I understand that my greatest work—really my only work—is to abide in sweet fellowship with my Lord and Master.
What a joy to be hungry!
What are some other things you and I can do to promote “God hunger”?
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