EMBRACING SPIRITUAL HUNGER

[Albert Finch]

"Now there is in Jerusalem by the sheep gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew Bethesda, having five porticoes. In these lay a multitude of those who were sick, blind, lame, and withered, waiting for the moving of the waters; for an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool and stirred up the water; whoever then first, after the stirring up of the water, stepped in was made well from whatever disease with which he was afflicted. A man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years." - John 5:2-5 NASB

This passage describes how at appointed seasons, there was a supernatural activity of the Holy Spirit that shifted the atmosphere from the natural to the supernatural. In between these strategic seasons, there was a time of testing. This certainly seems to be true in our lives as well.

How we respond in times of waiting is critical:

Will we get frustrated and move into doubt and unbelief?

Will we lower the bar of our expectation in order to avoid disappointment?

Will we take on false responsibility, acting as though the outcome all depends on our performance?

Or will we look through different eyes, and see the waiting as a divine invitation to press into something more?

EMBRACING OUR HUNGER

There seems to be a period of time, an opportunity given by God during the waiting, for us to become so desperate that we turn our frustration into hunger instead. Hunger becomes a magnet that draws forth the supernatural activity of the Holy Spirit to invade the natural realm.
Every circumstance is subject to change, and God invites us to co-labor with Him in the birthing of a new dawn, a new day and new beginnings—where God's calling on our life is unlocked and answers finally come tumbling forth!

"When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had already been a long time in that condition, He said to him, 'Do you wish to get well?' The sick man answered Him, 'Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I am coming, another steps down before me.' Jesus said to him, 'Get up, pick up your pallet and walk.'" - John 5:6-8 NASB

One greater than an angel came and declared that the waiting was over and a new period of time, not just a new season, had come. Everything changed then—and everything changes today—when Jesus, the Messiah, steps into the scene. We no longer look to the limitations of man, but rather to the unlimited power of the Son of God.

So, what is our role in this process -- hunger expressed as a heart-cry of prayer! Let's, therefore, continue to ask that the Holy Spirit be released into the pool of our lives to bring forth a mighty visitation.

"The wrestling quality of importunate prayer does not spring from physical vehemence or fleshly energy. It is not an impulse of energy, nor mere earnestness of soul. It is a wrought force, a faculty implanted and aroused by the Holy Spirit. Virtually, it is the intercession of the Holy Spirit in us." - E. M. Bounds

ALBERT FINCH MINISTRY
http://afministry.ning.com/